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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30019941">to see you again</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxWinterRosexx/pseuds/xxWinterRosexx'>xxWinterRosexx</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Direction (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fetus Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Internalized Homophobia, Long Hair Harry, M/M, POV Louis Tomlinson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 22:29:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>33,174</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30019941</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxWinterRosexx/pseuds/xxWinterRosexx</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>At age 13, a malnourished orphan named Harry Styles, finds himself adopted into the upper-class Tomlinson family with a second chance. He finds himself in a new family with adoptive siblings, including Louis, who is loud, animated, and a little sarcastic at times. He’s focused on playing footie, being popular at school, and teaching Harry how to have proper fun. The unlikely pair become best friends despite the differences in their backgrounds, personalities, and interests. </p>
<p>However, an incident at the end of the year causes Louis to freak out and Harry to run away.</p>
<p>They don’t see each other again until 4 years later, where they meet at University. Louis finds himself intrigued by the boy who seems to have changed in every way a person can, and curious to figure out the enigma of Harry Styles. Louis may just happen to accidentally fall for this boy in his journey to learn more. And maybe Harry never stopped loving him in the first place.</p>
<p>(Side Ziam) Liam is a footie player and friend from Louis’ childhood, Zayn is Harry’s indifferent and artistic roommate, and Niall is a happy-go-lucky supporter of all four of them, but first and foremost, Louis’ roommate who may finally help him set his head straight.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Larry Fanfics (One Direction), Ziam Fics</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello!! This story will also be posted under hstl.1991 on Wattpad if you prefer to read it there.</p>
<p>This is my first ever written work and I don't have any editors so please let me know if I made a spelling/grammatical mistake so I can fix it.</p>
<p>Also I apologize because I am American so I might not use the right term for something. Again, please let me know so I can fix it!</p>
<p>I know this chapter is Jay-heavy but she doesn't get enough screen time in fanfics as is and more Louis will be coming soon, so just stick around!!</p>
<p>(March 12th, 2021)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There are only four weeks of summer holiday left before Louis has to go to school again. He’ll be in Year 8 this year, his little sister Lottie starting in Year 1, and his youngest sibling Felicite too young to go to school because she’s only 4 years old. Sometimes Louis wishes he could stay at home all day with the maids too instead of starting another dreadful year of his never-ending education. </p>
<p>Usually he meets up with his friend Stan to play footie in the early afternoons, but today is just too hot. August is quickly approaching and Louis can feel the heat waves settling over Doncaster in thick blankets without so much as a breeze to counter it. </p>
<p>Louis groaned as he slumped further down the couch in nothing but a pair of swim trunks, his damp skin catching on the leather as he tried to slide off. He could feel sweat beads rolling down his back even though the A/C was on. It was days like this when he wished the pool wasn’t closed for maintenance repair. He could really use a refreshing splash right now. </p>
<p>Louis sighed and stood up to head to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and felt his body relax as the cool air surrounded his torso, making him almost forget why he was so uncomfortable in the first place.</p>
<p>“The food will go bad if you leave that open for so long.”</p>
<p>Louis whipped his head around to see his mother gathering her wallet and keys into her bag at the kitchen island. </p>
<p>“I’m not, I’m just looking for something refreshing to drink,” he rolled his eyes at her constant nagging, turning back to the fridge.</p>
<p>“Stephanie made some fresh lemonade yesterday, you should pour a glass for the girls too. I’m going out for a bit and your father is at work so I’m gonna need you to look after Lottie and Felicite for a bit until I get back.”</p>
<p>“Don’t you have enough money to hire someone for that? Why do I have to do it,” Louis groaned again as he pulled down one glass and two plastic cups from the cabinet and started pouring the lemonade pitcher. </p>
<p>Jay sighed and put down her bag. “It’s the weekend, don’t you think they deserve some time with their families too? Besides, I’m just making my monthly visit to my psychic downtown. It shouldn’t take more than two hours.”</p>
<p>“Promise?” Louis asked, “Stan is coming over at 3:00 to play FIFA, I don’t want to be bothered while we play.”</p>
<p>“Aww, I love how much my son loves his sisters.” Louis rolled his eyes. “I promise,” Jay said as she grabbed Louis’ head and bent down to kiss him on his forehead. “See you later!”</p>
<p>Louis rubbed the kiss off his sweat-plastered fringe as he watched his mother grab her bag and sunglasses and head out the door. He carefully gathered all three cups in his hands and started towards the playroom where his sisters usually spent their days when it was too hot to go outside. </p>
<p>----</p>
<p>“Interesting…” the psychic observed as she shifted her eyes between the tarot cards and Jay’s inquisitive face.</p>
<p>“Is it bad?” Jay bit her lip. Her readings were generally positive and uniform in result, with no major issues or malfunctions in her life. This psychic had predicted her husband’s promotion at work, her pregnancies with Lottie and Felicite, as well as the twins that were currently on the way. She wanted to have two healthy babies, but the look on the psychic’s face worried her.</p>
<p>“It seems that you will have three new children this year,” the psychic said with a monotone voice.</p>
<p>“Three?? But I had an ultrasound last week and the doctor said it was only twins!” Jay freaked out. Two babies sounded hard enough, she didn’t think she could handle three infants at the same time, even with the help of her midwives and maids.</p>
<p>“Your future is certain to have three, although one will be different from the others.”</p>
<p>What does that mean? Would one come out with bad health conditions? Jay had been coming to this psychic for nearly a decade and had yet to make a wrong prediction. Jay felt worry pool in her gut, but she thanked the lady and paid her for her time before she was on her way.</p>
<p>Still thinking about what the psychic said, Jay wasn’t totally paying attention as she walked back to her car. This was the more run-down part of Doncaster and her husband wasn’t with her, so she should’ve been alert at all times. She hardly had time to react before she realized a man had snatched her purse and bolted down the street.</p>
<p>“Hey! Someone help, a thief stole my purse!” she shouted, unable to run after the man herself because she was pregnant and didn’t want to endanger the babies. She needed her purse to get home, it had her phone, keys, and wallet in it. </p>
<p>She started to hyperventilate when she saw a young child, no older than 11, bolt after the man. He may have been small, but the kid was fast. He launched himself on the thief, holding on like a koala bear to a eucalyptus tree. They struggled for a bit before they both fell to the ground, the man slapping and punching the kid off of him while the kid held onto the purse for dear life. </p>
<p>Police sirens sounded in the background and the man looked up in fear. He decided to give up and flee the scene before he was arrested. Police cars sped by and followed around the corner where the man had disappeared to.</p>
<p>By now, the little boy was limping back to Jay, purse in hand. He had cuts on his forehead and under his left cheek, with bruises on his eye socket, jaw, and collar bone. “Here you are, ma’am,” the boy said politely as he held her Chanel bag out in front of him with a goofy smile on his face, dimples showing on both sides.</p>
<p>He didn’t look bothered at all by what just happened. Jay stared at him in shock, confused as to how such a scrawny child could fight a grown man and win. She took in his appearance as he was wearing a slightly ripped white tank top, dirty cargo shorts, and ratty tennis shoes. “Ma’am? Are you okay?” his smile faltered as he looked at her concerned when she didn’t respond or move to take her bag.</p>
<p>Jay snapped out of it. “Am I okay? Honey, I am completely fine, but look at you! Are you okay? Let me take you to the hospital,” she fretted, taking her bag back and guiding him with her back to her car.</p>
<p>“It’s really no big deal, I’ll be fine,” the boy shrugged, stopping in place. </p>
<p>“At least let me drive you home, your mother must be so worried about you,” Jay insisted.</p>
<p>“I don’t have a mother…” the boy whispered, looking down at his feet. His green eyes brightened again as he showed a forced smile. “Really Miss, I’m okay. Thank you for offering though.”</p>
<p>“I can’t just leave you here like this, especially after everything you’ve done for me today. Where do you live? Please let me make sure you get home safely,” Jay pleaded.</p>
<p>The boy sighed and accepted her offer. He was never very good at saying no to people, and his face did sting a bit. He usually wouldn’t trust a stranger, but this lady seemed so nice and genuinely concerned, so maybe she was different from most adults. They got in Jay’s car together and the boy pointed directions to get back to his home. </p>
<p>Jay slowed her Range Rover to a stop and parked the car in front of… Sir Christopher’s Home for Orphaned Kids? </p>
<p>“You live here?” Jay asked, looking down at the boy in surprise.</p>
<p>The boy’s smile had a little bit of shame hidden underneath. “Yeah… this is me.”</p>
<p>They both got out of the car and Jay walked the boy inside. The woman at the front desk’s eyes lit up when she saw them walk through the door. “Are you here to meet Harry?” she asked, an enthusiastic lilt to her voice.</p>
<p>“Harry…” Jay questioned.</p>
<p>“That’s me.” Harry whispered, looking at his feet again.</p>
<p>Jay felt guilty, she just realized that she never even asked the boy his name! “Oh right, of course! I’m Johannah Tomlinson, but you can just call me Jay for short,” she smiled down at the boy.</p>
<p>“As in the wife of Mark Tomlinson? Oh, you must be here on business. We are very thankful for all your donations, and I’d be happy to show you around if you’d like?” the front desk lady asked.</p>
<p>Jay forgot that this was one of the many non-profits the Tomlinson Foundation donated to. It was hard to keep track of everything, and she usually only involved herself by mingling with other donors at fancy galas. She looked around and noticed that the place seemed pretty run-down and in dire need of some new renovations. Her eyes wandered around the room until they fell on Harry again, who was silently standing next to her with his eyes glued to the floor. Then she remembered his injuries and why she brought him home in the first place. </p>
<p>“Actually, I’d rather we take car of Harry’s injuries first. Where’s your nurse?” Jay asked.</p>
<p>The front desk attendant looked at her weird. “Uh, we don’t have a nurse here. Plus, Harry comes back looking like that all the time. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”</p>
<p>Jay’s eyes widened at the admission. Was he being abused? No child should ever have that as their “normal.” Was Harry not getting the proper care he needed at this institution?</p>
<p>“What do you mean you don’t have a nurse? What do you do with all the donations that get sent here? Clearly they aren’t spent on residence upkeep” Jay crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing the woman on the other side of the desk.</p>
<p>The woman sighed. “We mostly use it for clothes, food, and other resources for the children. The young ones go quickly, but the older kids and teenagers stick around longer and they are more expensive to provide for.” The woman said, gesturing her hand at Harry.</p>
<p>Teenager? This kid couldn’t be older than eleven years old. “How old are you, Harry?” Jay asked, looking down at the child.</p>
<p>“Thirteen,” he mumbled, still not making eye contact. He seemed totally different here than he was in the car or out on the street.</p>
<p>“And how long have you been at St. Christophers?” she asked gently.</p>
<p>“Three years.” </p>
<p>Jay’s heart clenched at the admission. No loving family for nearly a quarter of this kid’s life? And it was normal for him to come back all beat-up, but nobody cared? And to make matters worse, he was really short and scrawny for his age, so he clearly wasn’t getting the nutrients he needed. She would know, because she has a son the same age and he is much bigger and healthier than Harry. Jay hated seeing him in this situation, so she made up her mind.</p>
<p>“Is Harry available for adoption?” Jay asked the front desk attendant.</p>
<p>Harry’s eyes snapped upwards at the question. “What? What do you mean?” he asked.</p>
<p>“Harry, I want you to come home with me, if that’s alright with you? You can have your own bedroom and bathroom, we have a big yard, an outdoor and an indoor pool, a jacuzzi, a racing track, a big kitchen with more than enough food for you, and maids who can get you anything you could ever ask for.”</p>
<p>The attendant’s eyes crinkled in a smile at the suggestion. “That’s wonderful! The teenagers are usually the hardest to find a home for, and Harry could really use a new start in his life. Are you sure you want to do this though? Usually adoptive parents want to take a look around and meet with all the kids and get to know them before they make their selection.”</p>
<p>Selection? What is this, a buffet? These are real people, children for God’s sake! </p>
<p>Jay thought back to Harry’s brave and selfless actions when helping her get her purse back. Plus, he clearly didn’t seem happy at the orphanage, and it didn’t look like he was being cared for properly. “I’m sure. I want to give Harry a home.”</p>
<p>“We usually have a lengthy process of interviews and investigations for the parents to make sure they can provide a safe and happy home, but I’m sure we can bypass that process for the biggest donors to our institution. Harry, you can go on upstairs and start packing your things while I work with Mrs. Tomlinson to fill out some paperwork.” She smiled at the boy and started shuffling through a filing cabinet.</p>
<p>Jay turned to Harry and crouched down to be more eye-level. She was in kind of an awkward position, wearing heels and five months pregnant, but she managed to get down there. “Harry, honey, I only want to do this if you are comfortable with it. I don’t want you to feel like I am pressuring you into coming home with me, I just want you to feel happy and safe and loved in a real home.” She searched the boy’s eyes for an answer, and his shock slowly turned into an unrecognizable emotion. </p>
<p>Harry’s eyes started to well up with tears, but he held them in. He nodded his head. “Yeah. I think I would be okay with that.”</p>
<p>Jay smiled and pulled the boy in for a hug. His arms hung limply at his sides, not returning the hug, but his body relaxed into hers so Jay knew it was okay. She pet his hair and slowly pulled back. Harry wiped his eyes, brought back his goofy grin, and ran upstairs to pack his things.</p>
<p>“I need you to fill out these forms and give me a copy of your ID, and then Harry is yours to take home.” The lady smiled.</p>
<p>Jay rolled her eyes at the reference to him as an object again, but quickly filled out the papers without saying anything, wanting to get Harry out of there as fast as possible. </p>
<p>----</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay that was Chapter 1!</p><p>This is my first time writing anything, I just had a plotline in my head and I didn't see it anywhere else so I needed to get it out somehow.</p><p>Chapter 2 should come out right after this because it's already written too.</p><p>Also let me know if you have a better title in mind (though that might be easier to pick once the story gets going) or if you have any ideas for the story or chapter covers! I'm not good at manips lol but I think they look so cool, I'm just not artistic enough to figure it out.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello again, as promised here is chapter 2 right away.</p>
<p>(March 13th, 2021)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry put a duffle bag and a small backpack in the backseat of the car. “Is that all?” Jay asked, confused where the rest of his belongings were.</p>
<p>“That’s everything,” Harry smiled, excitedly jumping in the passenger’s seat, ready to go to his new home.</p>
<p>Jay smiled at his change in attitude, and got in the driver’s seat. They waved out the window as they pulled away, only the front desk lady present to send them off. Did Harry not make any friends in the three years he was there? He didn’t seem to make any special goodbyes or notify anyone of his departure.</p>
<p>“So Harry…” Jay started, the boy’s gaze still focused outside the window. “I know we didn’t get to know each other much before making this decision, but I’m hoping in the four weeks before school starts, we can fix that.”</p>
<p>Harry turned around to look at Jay. “School?”</p>
<p>“Would it be okay with you to transfer to Outwood Academy? My son goes there and he’s about your age, I’m sure he’d be happy to show you around. Maybe you guys are even in the same grade! What year will you be starting?”</p>
<p>“Yeah that’s fine, I’ll be in Year 8,” Harry chewed on his lip. Her son? He had never had siblings before. Most of the kids at the orphanage were much younger than him so he looked after them, but he never interacted much with people his own age.</p>
<p>“Perfect! So is Louis. I’m so excited, I’m sure you’ll be best mates by the time the school year comes around,” Jay’s eyes crinkled in a smile. She hardly had crow’s feet, she looked so young and beautiful for her age. Harry had kind of assumed that she was pregnant with her first kid since she looked so young. He wondered if there were more children between Louis and the new one to fill in the age gap.</p>
<p>They pulled up to a gated community. Jay reached out the window and typed in a code and the gates began to open. Harry stared at the huge mansions passing by. There had to be at least six bedrooms in each one! The car was silent as Harry peaked out the window in bewilderment before they finally pulled up a long driveway into the biggest house in the neighborhood. Harry could already see three gardeners outside the property, cutting the hedges and weeding the flower beds.</p>
<p>His stomach started to churn as he got more and more nervous for starting this new life. What if he said something wrong? What if his manners didn’t match up to these rich people’s expectations? What if he was too stupid to learn their lifestyle? What if he broke something expensive? What if they got mad and sent him back to the orphanage again? His mind started racing until the sound of his door unlatching snapped him out of it. He looked up at Jay, who had apparently gotten out of the car and walked to the passenger’s side.</p>
<p>“Harry? Darling, are you alright?” she asked, kindness dripping from her voice like honey.</p>
<p>Harry smiled up at her. He couldn’t explain why, but she soothed him and made him feel so safe even though they had just met three hours ago. “I’m fine, just a little nervous ‘s all,” he said as he got out of the car, twisting the hem of his shirt in his hands. He still hadn’t changed or washed up since they arrived at the orphanage, and he knew he smelled even though Jay wouldn’t say anything.</p>
<p>Harry started to open the backdoor to reach for his stuff before Jay stopped him. “Don’t worry about grabbing your things, dear, I’ll get someone to bring those up to your room for you.”</p>
<p>Harry fidgeted uncomfortably. “Um, yeah… okay.”</p>
<p>Jay pet his hair again and smiled as she began to lead him into the house. It was a small gesture, but it relaxes his nerves quite a bit.</p>
<p>----</p>
<p>“And this will be your room,” Jay smiled as she opened big double doors that swing out to reveal a huge bedroom furnished with a large, black desk, a TV and couch area with a sleek coffee table, a king-sized bed with red and gold drapes hanging off each corner, and an attached balcony blocked off by two glass doors. As Harry entered the room he also noticed a full bathroom with a clawfoot tub and a walk-in closet that was bigger than his room at the orphanage that he shared with three other boys. He would never have enough clothes or belongings to fill up even a shelf of this room.</p>
<p>Harry noticed both of his bags already on his bed. Someone must have brought them there during his grand tour of the house from Jay.</p>
<p>“We have all of the basics in the bathroom for now, but later we can go out shopping if you prefer different scents or brands for your products, okay? I know today must have been a lot for you and you’re probably feeling stressed and tired. I’ll leave you to freshen up and make yourself at home. Dinner will be at 6:00.”</p>
<p>Harry nodded and closed the door after Jay left. He was honestly feeling very overwhelmed, and a shower sounded great right about now. He hasn’t had a shower or bath with hot water in months, despite the current blistering weather.</p>
<p>Harry locked himself in the bathroom and stripped off his sweaty clothes before stepping under the scalding water. It burned his cuts and bruises, but Harry wanted to scrub himself clean of everything he wanted to leave behind. He was finally given another chance in life, and he wanted to start it off on the right foot. He knew Jay had given him the best possible opportunity and he didn’t want to mess it up.</p>
<p>When he was finished and thoroughly smelled like tea tree from head to toe, Harry stepped out and wrapped himself in a big, fluffy towel. It was so soft and warm, and felt better than his sleeping blanket back at the orphanage. He almost wanted to lie on the floor and take a nap with it then and there, but then he remembered that dinner was in thirty minutes and he didn’t want to be late. Plus, he hadn’t eaten all day so his stomach was growling.</p>
<p>Harry looked in the mirror and saw that his hair was disheveled from being so long; he was due for a haircut. He poked around at his face, examining the bruises and scars from today. He winced as the one on his jaw was especially painful. He looked at his torso and noticed his ribs sticking out. He was often bullied at school for being so small, but he couldn’t help it. He just hoped that one day puberty would come and he would grow enough to be normal next to all the other boys.</p>
<p>Harry reached for his duffel and pulled out a thin white t-shirt and some black trousers. He knew he would be hot if he didn’t wear shorts, but this family seemed to be way too fancy for that and he didn’t want to make the wrong impression. He wished he had a nicer shirt to change into, but the orphanage could only afford hand-me-down plain white or black shirts. He ran his hand down the wrinkles but sighed and gave up as there was nothing he could do about it.</p>
<p>Even though it was only 5:45, Harry decided to head down early. He wasn’t sure if 6 was the arrival time or the eating time, and he wanted to leave early in case he got lost trying to find his way back to the dining table again. He started down the stairs but froze before he got to the final landing, pressing his ear against the wall where he heard voices coming through.</p>
<p>“You promised it would be less than two hours! You were three hours late, Mom, and the two hours I was supposed to spend with Stan today, we ended up spending babysitting instead.”</p>
<p>A boy’s voice? That must be Louis, Jay’s son. He sounded really upset.</p>
<p>“I know honey, and I said I’m sorry. I had a change of plans today and something urgent came up.”</p>
<p>Uh oh. Did Harry mess up her schedule? He chewed on his lip thinking about how he had been a nuisance to her and thus screwed up Louis’ day as well.</p>
<p>“Ugh, whatever. I’m hungry,” Louis scoffed as his voice faded away.</p>
<p>Jay was startled when she turned the corner and almost ran right into Harry. “Harry dear! I was just about to come fetch you for dinner.” She smiled again. “You are looking much better than earlier already, we can put some ointment on those cuts if they are still bothering you after dinner. Come on, then.” She put her hands on Harry’s back and led him to the dinner table.</p>
<p>Jay plopped Harry down in the chair next to herself at the head of the table, and across from the boy who must be Louis. They immediately made eye contact, but Louis didn’t say anything. Harry found himself unable to speak as well, all words having left his brain when he looked at those electric blue eyes.</p>
<p>“Who are you?” Harry broke eye-contact and looked down at the chair next to him, where sat a little girl he hadn’t noticed before.</p>
<p>Harry cleared his throat before smiling at the girl. “I’m Harry.”</p>
<p>She reached up and poked his dimple, which took him by surprise. “Hmm, I like your face, Harry.”</p>
<p>A giggle came from across the table. Louis looked up and realized that there was an even younger girl sitting next to Louis, strapped in a booster seat so she could reach the table.</p>
<p>Harry heard a far door slam, and then a man rushed into the room. He removed his suit jacket and put down his briefcase before sitting at the other head of the table, next to both girls. “Sorry I’m late, my meeting ran late at work and then there was traffic coming home. What’s for dinner?” the man, who Harry assumed was Jay’s husband, asked aloud. What was his name again? Mike? Matt? Harry realized that he hasn’t been noticed yet, so he just looked to Jay for guidance.</p>
<p>“No worries love, I understand the company can get quite hectic at times,” Jay smiled, “Tonight we’re having gnocchi with a pomodoro sauce.”</p>
<p>Nyokie? What the heck is nyokie? Harry had never heard of this food before and he felt too embarrassed to ask. Hopefully he would like it.</p>
<p>A few people started bringing out big bowls with some kind of pasta in red sauce. It smelled amazing and Harry’s stomach audibly grumbled. The man looked up at Harry, then shifted his questioning gaze towards Jay.</p>
<p>Jay cleared her throat. “So I suppose I should address the elephant in the room. Everyone, this is Harry. He will be living with us starting now and you are to treat him like family, because he’s a part of the Tomlinson’s now.” She shifted her eyes to Harry and squeezed his hand. “Not that you need to change your last name or any part of you to belong here.”</p>
<p>Both of the girls nodded in understanding before digging in. The man looked confused still, but showed no signs of disagreeing with his wife. Louis on the other hand, had a different reaction.</p>
<p>“What do you mean ‘living with us’ and ‘treat him like family?’ Who even is this guy, I’ve never seen him before and now he lives with us?” Louis looks around at the rest of his family.</p>
<p>“Louis, son, try to accept it and get used to it, yeah? I’m sure your mother has her reasons,” the man said as he began to eat a plate of the food himself. Did Jay not talk to anyone about this before she decided to adopt him? He was grateful that there weren’t too many objections to his presence, but he knew he needed to give Louis some time to get used to this new situation.</p>
<p>“Is this why you were late today? Just happened to pick some random kid off the street to take home with you?”</p>
<p>Harry winced, although Louis wasn’t wrong in his assumption.</p>
<p>“Louis William Tomlinson, you will show your respect and be nice to Harry! He’s not some random kid, I adopted him. He’s your brother now so you better start acting like it,” Jay snapped.</p>
<p>“Brother?! Why the hell do I need a brother when I’ve already got two sisters and two more on the way? Are we not enough for you? Is that why you’re still filling up this damn house with more creatures you won’t care for, and pay someone else to watch them instead?”</p>
<p>“Lewis, go to your room. Right. Now. And watch your language,” his father gritted through his teeth.</p>
<p>Louis stood up without so much of a bite of dinner and walked upstairs to where Harry assumed his bedroom was.</p>
<p>Both girls were still silent, but this time looking at Harry. Harry didn’t like all the attention so he fiddled with his fingers in his lap, still having not served himself.</p>
<p>Jay sighed. “I am so sorry about that, Harry dear. He gets moody sometimes but I’m sure he’ll be better tomorrow. Here, I’m sure you’re starving. Let me serve you so you can eat with us.”</p>
<p>Harry gave her a shy smile and started picking at his own food.</p>
<p>“Oh! I forgot our own introductions. That was Louis, as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now. He is also thirteen and starting Year 8 this year. Girls, do you want to introduce yourselves?”</p>
<p>The one next to him turned in excitement. “I’m Charlotte but I go by Lottie, I am six years old, and I’m starting Year 1 this year! Also I like the dents on your face and I hope you’ll be a good big brother.” She smiled at Harry endearingly. He smiled back, showing his dimples again.</p>
<p>He looked at the other one expectantly, waiting for her introduction. She stared at him with big eyes, but hid her face behind her hands without saying anything. Harry gets it, he’s shy around strangers too. “This one is named Felicite and she’s too young to go to school. Fizzy, can you tell Harry how old you are?” Jay asked her.</p>
<p>Felicite held up four fingers but still didn’t say anything.</p>
<p>Harry smiled at her, too. “Four? Wow, so that makes you a big girl now, doesn’t it?”</p>
<p>Felicite giggled at Harry and removed her hands from her face.</p>
<p>The man cleared his throat and started talking. “And I, uh, am Mark Tomlinson but you can just call me Mark. I work at Tomlinson Enterprises Inc. and I’m usually there for most of the day, so I’ll probably only see you at dinners or during the evening, but I’m glad to have you in the family,” Mark smiled at Harry, although Harry could still read the confusion in his eyes over the whole situation.</p>
<p>When they finished dinner, Harry tried to help clear the dishes but Jay stopped him and told him that the maids would take care of everything. Harry complied, although Jay could see the resistance in the boy’s eyes. He must have felt out of place and unsure of his role in this new family. Jay let the corners of her mouth turn up at the thought of Harry being such an avid helper. She really did pick a good one, and was lucky that fate brought her another shining beacon of a son into her life.</p>
<p>Jay froze as she stared at Harry, the thought rolling through her head. A son. Harry was her son now.</p>
<p>
  <em>‘It seems that you will have three new children this year.’ </em>
</p>
<p>Jay threw her head back and laughed to herself, hand running over the bump of the twins in her belly. She even let out a sigh of relief knowing that they won’t be triplets, and the doctor was right.</p>
<p>Harry looked up at her with a confused glint in his eye as to why she was laughing at nothing in particular, but she just smiled and ruffled his hair. “Welcome to the family, Harry.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter Three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>(March 21, 2021)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Louis set down his controller and turned off the game console. It had been dark outside for a while now, and most of his family was already asleep in bed. He moved his hand down to his stomach where he felt it growl. He hadn’t eaten since noon today, so needless to say he could go for a snack. </p>
<p>Louis quietly tip-toed down to the kitchen, careful to avoid the creaky planks in the floor so as to not wake up his family. The muscle memory from countless sneak-outs before made this effort an easy task. </p>
<p>He had already changed into his sleeping clothes, a thin t-shirt and some sweats because he gets cold at night. He slipped on his glasses and ran a hand through his disheveled hair, not caring about his appearance because he’s the only one who stays up this late and his parents wouldn’t be there to lecture him about “appropriate home attire.” Louis rolled his eyes at the thought of the confrontation. Shouldn’t he be allowed to wear whatever he wants in the comfort of his own home?</p>
<p>He makes his way over to the fridge in the darkness, not noticing the figure sat at the island. He ravishes through the contents of the drawers before settling on a Honeycrisp apple; their season was just starting so they were crisp and fresh right now. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable or messed up your plans earlier.”</p>
<p>Louis jumped out of his skin, apple falling to the ground as he whipped around to locate the voice. “Jesus fuck!” he whisper-shouted, hand clenching his t-shirt near his heart. “Fucking hell mate, announce yourself next time! Ugh, you made me drop my apple.”</p>
<p>Harry winced at the curses. “Sorry…” he mumbled. The younger boy dropped his gaze and chewed on his lip. Clearly he already felt out of place in this new environment, and Louis’ previous attitude didn’t exactly serve as a ‘warm welcome.’ </p>
<p>“What are you even doing here?” Louis asked, waving his arms around to gesture to the kitchen.</p>
<p>“Was thirsty, ‘s all…” Harry clenched his fingers tighter around a glass of water that Louis was just noticing, knuckles turning white. </p>
<p>Louis recognized his nervousness and sighed. “Look, mate, I’m sorry if I was mean to you at dinner or hurt your feelings or summat, I was more angry at my mom than anything and I kinda took it out on you.”</p>
<p>Harry looked up from his hands, making eye-contact for the second time that night. Even in the darkness of only the moonlight, Louis was shocked by how green this boy’s eyes were. There was no trace of dullness, just the soft electric glow of a grassy meadow. It almost felt as though the boy’s eyes could see through Louis.</p>
<p>The boys held their unmoving gaze for a second longer before the corners of the smaller one’s lips began to turn upward, exposing his dimples as he half-smiled at Louis. “‘S alright.”</p>
<p>Louis felt his startled breathing slow down as he offered a smile in return. Maybe this boy wasn’t all bad news. “So, Harry was it?” The smaller boy nodded. “Sorry if I missed the whole story at dinner, but who are you, exactly? How did you end up as my… brother?”</p>
<p>Harry’s smile dropped and his gaze returned to his fingers as he picked at a hangnail on his thumb. Louis didn’t know what he said wrong, but he wanted to lift the boy’s chin and tell him that everything is okay now. He knows there’s a deeper story behind those eyes, maybe one he’s not ready to tell just yet. </p>
<p>“I, uh… I used to live at an orphanage but then I helped Jay get her purse back from a thief, and I guess she pitied me? Anyway, she drove me back home and decided to adopt me, ‘m not really sure why…” Harry trailed off, tucking a curl behind his ear. His hair was damp at dinner and more weighed-down, but Louis noticed that his chocolate brown hair sprung up in soft ringlets when it dried. He wanted to pull one to see if it would bounce, but decided against that, not wanting to make the small boy even more uncomfortable. </p>
<p>“Orphanage, huh? Mom’s never shown an interest in adopting or foster care before, God knows she’s fertile enough to fill up this house on her own.”</p>
<p>Harry released a surprise snort, quickly covering his palm to his face, cheeks pinking up at his unintentional reaction.</p>
<p>Louis smiled at Harry’s chortle and continued, “I suppose it’ll be nice to have another boy in this house though, especially with two more girls on the way.” </p>
<p>Harry’s eyes lit up at this. “Twin girls?”</p>
<p>Louis looked up, surprised at the ever-present enthusiasm. “Err… yeah. Due in four months and supposed to be identical.”</p>
<p>Harry’s smile grew even wider, eyes crinkling at the new information. “That’s amazing! You know, we used to have a lot of twins come through the orphanage cycle, but most adoptive parents only look for one child at a time so they were usually separated… It would be so cool to grow up with an identical twin.” Harry was still smiling, his eyes glazed over and reminiscent of his old memories, not totally present with Louis right in front of him. </p>
<p>“Aw man, that would suck. Having a sibling but then splitting up to go to different families… they should have like, rules against that or something.”</p>
<p>Harry’s eyes lose their glimmer at Louis’ comment. He refocuses his attention and smiles again, but Louis can tell that this one is forced, eyes not smiling at all. “Yeah. They should,” Harry concludes.</p>
<p>Louis studies the boy, curious as to what he said wrong, what made the atmosphere shift so suddenly. Harry seemed excited about the arrival of the new babies, right? So what happened? These analyzing thoughts disappeared as Harry stood up to dump the rest of his water down the sink, grabbing a sponge to wash his glass.</p>
<p>“You know the chefs will clean that in the morning, right? You can just leave it in the sink.”</p>
<p>Harry’s body goes rigid again, slowly putting the cup in the basin. He pulls one of his hands up behind his neck, scratching at the loose hairs hanging by his shirt collar. “Aha, guess I still have some learning to do. Everything here,” Harry gestures at the house, “Is so different from back at the orphanage. I was kind of on my own to take care of myself so I’m used to doing all the chores.”</p>
<p>Take care of himself? Mum said he was only thirteen, right? Sure he’s probably capable of doing some chores, but surely he still received care and attention from the adults at the orphanage?</p>
<p>At Louis’ lack of a response, Harry makes a move towards the doorway. “Right, well. Goodnight then.”</p>
<p>“Wait!” Louis called out before his thoughts could catch up, unsure of what to say. He had to come up with something so this conversation wouldn’t be even weirder than it already is. “What room did they give you? We had like four guest bedrooms so I’m curious, ‘s all.” Now it was Louis’ turn to feel awkward. Why did it matter where Harry’s room was, and why was it any of Louis’ business? </p>
<p>Too late to take it back, Harry is already responding. “Err, I think it's on the North side of the house? The red and gold one with the balcony facing the front driveway?”</p>
<p>“No way, they gave you the fanciest room? Trust me, I used to want that one, but once you realize it's right next to Mum and Dad’s, it's not so appealing. Mum’s a light sleeper so you can never make noise or sneak out without her hearing you, let alone its right across the hall from the nursery that will soon be filled with screaming infants. I shared a wall with Felicite when she was a newborn and let me tell you, that shit sucked. I was up almost every night listening to her incessant wails and cries until Mum came to take care of her. It was god awful,” Louis chuckles, remembering Year 5 when he hardly slept a wink, exhausted every morning before school.</p>
<p>“I don’t know, I don’t think it will be too bad. I used to share a room with several toddlers and a few babies. I’m kind of used to taking care of them at night.” Harry shrugged.</p>
<p>Louis arched an eyebrow, thinking about another clue to Harry’s responsibilities at the orphanage. Seems like too much for a kid his age. </p>
<p>“Tell you what. You get to be a kid now, no responsibilities for chores or childcare. The room right next to mine is open, the furthest wing from Mum and Dad. That way you can play music or video games all you want, and they won’t hear if you ever want to sneak out, although there are a few creaky floorboards I have to warn you about. The room is a bit smaller, but it still has its own bathroom and a walk-in closet. Plus, we might as well become friends if we’re supposed to be brothers now, and the closeness wouldn’t hurt. I’ll even let you play my Xbox,” Louis offers.</p>
<p>Harry smiles at the invitation, dimples poking out again. “Yeah, I think I’d like that. To be honest, my current room is too big for comfort. I was kind of dreading sleeping in there with all that extra space tonight. Seems… cold by myself.”</p>
<p>“Perfect! Let’s pack up your stuff and move then.”</p>
<p>“Jay and Mark won’t be offended? I don’t want them to think I wasn’t grateful, because really I am, but--”</p>
<p>“Nah, Mum would probably be happy to see us getting along, actually. C’mon, I’ll help you.”</p>
<p>Louis grabs Harry’s wrist and tip-toes up the stairs to the largest guest bedroom. Closing the door behind them, Louis turns around and places his hands on his hips. “Right then, what’s there to pack up?” he whispers to Harry, looking around the seemingly unoccupied room. </p>
<p>“Just this duffel and backpack, and my outfit from earlier. I think I left it in the bathroom.” </p>
<p>Harry checks the bathroom as Louis grabs the other two bags.</p>
<p>“You travel light, yeah?” Louis chuckles, gesturing to the lack of possessions in hand. </p>
<p>Harry’s cheeks tint pink at the statement, but he just nods and follows Louis to the door. They very silently walk through the hallway, down to the corridor to the other side of the upper level. </p>
<p>“That’s my room,” Louis whispers, pointing at a door as they walk past, “And this will be yours. Lottie and Felicite share a room closer to Mum and Dad, so this hallway is essentially just us now. I’m a pretty heavy sleeper and I tend to go to bed late, so feel free to make as much noise as you want.”</p>
<p>Louis pushes open the door to the new bedroom and steps inside. Harry looks around, taking in the significantly smaller bedroom. This one has a full-sized bed in one corner, with a smaller TV and a couch on the other side. The bathroom has a 2-in-1 shower and bathtub, and the walk-in closet is smaller, with a couple shelves, drawers, and hanging racks, with a small bench and a full body mirror on the side wall. The room has a much lighter theme than the heavy gold and red hues from the other bedroom. This one features a light greyish-blue color on the bedspread and couch decorative pillows. Harry smiles, clearly more comfortable already.</p>
<p>“This feels much more like a home than the other room, thanks.”</p>
<p>Louis nods and puts Harry’s stuff down on the bed, turning around to look at the boy. “While I’m here, might as well give me your number so we can contact each other if we need to. And your snapchat too.”</p>
<p>Harry’s brows furrow as he looks to the ground, absentmindedly picking at the stitching on the grey couch. “Err, I don’t, like, have a phone. Or any of that stuff.”</p>
<p>Louis mentally smacks himself for making the poor boy uncomfortable again. Of course he doesn’t have a phone! He was at an orphanage with low funding for Christ’s sake, no wonder he has so few belongings to himself. “Oh, my bad,” Louis says awkwardly, not easing the tension in the room. “I’ll ask Mum about that tomorrow. Maybe we can go shopping together to find the newest, best model?” </p>
<p>Harry smiles at the suggestion. “Yeah I think I’d like that.” His smile slips off, worry taking over again. “Wait, I probably don’t have enough saved up. I don’t think I could even get a flip phone right now.”</p>
<p>Louis rolls his eyes. “Harry, one of the only upsides to being a child in this family is the allowance. You’d probably get the same amount as me since we’re the same age. Mum only gives me $100 per week right now, but I’m sure she’d be happy to give you an advance, especially for something as necessary as a phone. She doesn’t let me go anywhere without mine.”</p>
<p>Harry’s eyes bulge, his surprise reappearing. “$100 a week? That’s like, more than I’ve had in an entire year!”</p>
<p>Louis is taken aback by surprise again. A year? How did this kid live without money? What did he even do to keep himself entertained? No wonder he has so few belongings. </p>
<p>“You know what? Let’s go on a shopping spree tomorrow. My treat,” Louis declares, standing tall with hands on hips. </p>
<p>Harry blinks at him. “For what? I don’t need anything except for maybe a phone.”</p>
<p>“Anything! Clothes, games, care products, you name it. Besides, I was stuck babysitting all day today, I wanna go out and have some fun tomorrow. Say you’ll come with?” Louis bats his eyes in an ungraceful way, struggling to keep a steady rhythm. </p>
<p>Harry laughs at the effort. “Okay, fine. I’ll go with you tomorrow. Besides, I could use a tour of the town.”</p>
<p>“Perfect!” Louis claps excitedly. “Now, let’s get you settled in this new room before you change your mind and move back.” He turns around and starts pulling clothes and various other items out of the bags, laying them on the bed. He turns to the closet to get some hangers, and starts putting the wardrobe away in its intended location. After humming for a few minutes while he tucks the pants and trousers on a shelf, Louis turns back towards Harry to let him know that he’s done. </p>
<p>He finds Harry curled up against the couch armrest, chin resting on his palm, mouth slightly agape with the slightest hint of drool. Louis should be disgusted, as he often is with his sisters when they spontaneously fall asleep, but he can’t help but smile at the boy who likely had the longest day of his life. It’s well past midnight now, so Harry must be completely exhausted. Louis moves the duffel bag under the bed and pulls back the covers. Without waking the boy, he scoops him up in his arms, Harry’s head falling against Louis’ chest. The boy is significantly smaller than Louis, and slightly malnourished, so it takes very little effort to pick him up and gently lay him down on the mattress. Pulling the duvet up over the boy’s shoulders, Louis takes one last look and pushes the curls out of Harry’s face. “Goodnight, Harry.”</p>
<p>The door clicks shut behind him as Louis returns to his own room. After a long two months of boring summer days and sparse babysitting, Louis can’t say he is complaining at this new turn of events. Maybe his remaining summer holiday will turn out to be more interesting than originally expected now that there’s a new character in his life. Louis smiles at the thought of having a brother his own age, and falls asleep seconds after his head hits the pillow.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>(March 28th, 2021)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Are we there yet?” Lottie asks.</p>
<p>“Almost sweetheart, just a little bit longer.” Jay smiles at her through the rearview mirror of the Rangerover. </p>
<p>Louis had asked Jay that morning if he and Harry could go to the mall. They were too young to take themselves, but instead of calling a chauffeur, Jay decided to drive them, bringing Lottie and Felicite along for a Girl’s Day. She only agreed to Louis and Harry running off by themselves as long as they didn’t leave the mall and Louis kept his phone on the whole time. </p>
<p>Harry looked out the window while Louis shuffled between radio stations on the stereo. Louis is bigger so he got shotgun, and Harry got stuck between Lottie and Felicite’s car seats, although he didn’t seem to mind that much. Louis felt kind of bad watching his youngest sister tug on his curls every minute, trying to get his attention to show him something or other. Jay told her to keep her hands to herself, but Harry smiled and said he didn’t mind so Felicite kept at it. Lottie kicked her legs against the back of Louis’ seat at the beginning of the journey, which earned her a harsh glare between the headrest. Harry snickered and whispered encouragement for her to do it again, much to Lottie’s delight. </p>
<p>Louis smiled to himself that Harry and his sisters were getting along so well. He thought it might be awkward and felt kind of bad sticking him back there with the mini monsters, but Harry didn’t seem to mind much. In fact, he seemed to have a knack for interacting with young children. At any rate, Louis no longer feels guilty for giving himself the best seat in the car. </p>
<p>The car pulls up to a spot near the mall entrance, specifically designated for ‘new and expecting mothers.’</p>
<p>“You know, this is the only reason I keep getting pregnant. Lots of privileges and benefits in everyday life,” Jay states, getting out of the car to unbuckle Felicite. </p>
<p>“Can I get pregnant?” Lottie asks, excitement in her step.</p>
<p>Louis rolls his eyes as he opens her door to unbuckle her. “You’re too young for that, Lots. Maybe in two decades.”</p>
<p>“How ‘bout you, Lou? You’re older, you get pregnant!” Felicite asks, reaching her arms up for Jay to take her out of her seat before placing her on her feet outside.</p>
<p>Harry giggles at the question, crawling out after Lottie. Lottie places a hand on her cocked-out hip. “He can’t get pregnant, he’s a boy. Boys don’t get pregnant, right Mum?”</p>
<p>Jay laughs and pets Lottie’s hair, picking up Felicite’s hand to cross the street. “Yes, that’s right, Lots. Come on, let’s go.” Lottie dodges Jay’s attempt to grab her hand, running over to Harry’s side instead.</p>
<p>“I want to hold Harry’s hand to cross the street! Can I?”</p>
<p>Louis feigns offense that she would choose Harry over himself, despite never wanting to hold their hands once he was old enough to be trusted to cross the street on his own. “You’d pick Harry over your own brother?”</p>
<p>“Dummy, Harry’s our brother now too. Plus you guys are the same age so it's basically the same thing.” Lottie forcefully drags Harry with her towards the mall’s entrance. </p>
<p>Louis stops for a split second, forgetting that Harry is supposed to be his brother now. Why does it seem like everyone in his family has already gotten used to this dynamic, despite meeting Harry less than 24 hours ago? It feels more like a friend or a cousin visiting for the weekend right now. It’ll probably take a few days to get used to Harry’s new constant presence, but his sisters seem like they’ve lived with Harry their whole lives. Louis shakes the thought and catches up at the entrance. </p>
<p>“Here’s some money for the day, boys,” Jay says, placing a large wad of cash in Louis’ hand. “Louis, you can get a little something for yourself if you want, but I want you to spend most of that on Harry. Make sure you buy a phone and some toiletries, but you’re welcome to treat yourself with whatever’s left. Meet us back in the food court at noon for lunch.”</p>
<p>“Great, thanks, see you Mum!” Louis shouts, prying Harry’s hand from Lottie’s grasp, grabbing his wrist instead and dragging the pair away in the opposite direction. </p>
<p>They have three hours to themselves before they have to meet up again, and Louis wants to get as much shopping done as possible. They start in the Apple store, looking at iPhones. Harry’s eyes widen at the prices, some of them costing more than a grand. </p>
<p>“Hey, don’t worry about the price, okay? Just get whichever one you like best.” Louis covers the prices with the palm of his hand so Harry doesn’t feel stressed or guilty.</p>
<p>He ends up picking the same model that Louis has so it would be easier to learn. They both have the iPhone 5c, but Louis’ is blue and Harry’s is green so they can tell them apart. Harry also got a simple black case to protect it, and the basic accessories that come with the phone. After setting it up and adding Louis’ number, they decide to move on so as to not waste any more time. They can set up the rest of his apps and contacts later. </p>
<p>They pop into ‘The Art of Shaving’ to look for shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and other hygiene products, but Harry doesn’t seem interested in the options.</p>
<p>“What does ‘POWER’ even smell like? And what’s ‘ARCTIC BLUE?’ These scents don’t even make sense,” Harry mumbles, shuffling around the store as he inspects the options. </p>
<p>Louis smiles to himself, observing the spectacle. Harry’s got a point tho, men’s products don’t really make sense. He just knows that this is the store his dad gets stuff from, so he thought it would be good for Harry. Mostly as a joke, Louis suggests his Mum’s favorite store. “What about ‘Bath &amp; Body Works?’” Louis starts to chuckle at the suggestion, but Harry nods, his face serious.</p>
<p>“Yeah, okay. I’ve heard that’s a good store. We can look there.”</p>
<p>Louis stifles his laughter, surprised at Harry’s words, following him out of the store. They make their way across the Plaza and the overwhelming perfumes nearly choke Louis with their intensity as soon as they enter. He wants to cough and wave his hand in the air, but follows Harry into the store instead.</p>
<p>“Look at all the options!” Harry gasps, feet stopped in front of the biggest wall of body wash, lotions, and perfumes. </p>
<p>Louis inspects the wall, noting that most of the scents are for girls. Flowers and desserts seem to be the predominant themes. Harry shuffles through a few ‘test me’ swatches, testing the whole wall of options. Louis’ olfactory receptors lose their sensitivity after a while, everything smelling the same. He wanders around a bit while waiting for Harry to choose, inspecting the little trinkets and accessories.</p>
<p>Harry decides on a body wash and lotion scented ‘Jasmine and Green Apple.’ Louis brings the items up to the front, approving of the selection. After the cashier handed them the bag, Louis opened the lotion bottle and gave it a sniff. “You know, this is actually quite fitting. Not too girly-smelling like Mum’s.” Harry’s face lights up at the approval.</p>
<p>“What now?”</p>
<p>Louis scans his eyes over Harry, taking in the too-small t-shirt despite his small frame, ratted, baggy jeans, and scuffed sneaker with a hole over one toe. Louis’ pretty sure he didn’t see any other shoes with Harry’s belongings yesterday. “Let’s go clothes shopping, yeah?”</p>
<p>Harry wraps a self-conscious arm around his torso. “Really? Do we have enough left for that?”</p>
<p>“‘Course we do! Mum wants to treat you today so she gave us plenty of cash.” A mischievous grin grew on Louis’ face. “Wanna see if we can spend it all before we have to meet up for lunch?”</p>
<p>Harry’s enthusiasm didn’t grow with Louis’, instead picking at his fingernails with his head down again. Louis decided he preferred Harry’s dazzling smile to his nervous demeanor. “I don’t know, I really don’t need all that much. Jay has already been too kind and spent way too much on me today.”</p>
<p>Louis cocked a hip and crossed his arm. “You know you aren’t a charity case, right Harold?” Harry looked up at the formal name, green meeting blue in a steady eye-contact. Louis still startled at their intensity, though he kept his external appearance unwavering. “Mum formally adopted you yesterday, so she’s legally required to take care of you now. Buy you clothes and accessories ‘n’ all that. Which means… you should have no reason feeling bad spending her money. Dad makes enough that she won’t notice anyway. Now. Let’s have some fun and give you a new makeover, yeah?”</p>
<p>Harry’s shoulders visibly relaxed at Louis’ speech, a half-smile meeting the taller boy’s reassuring one. Once Harry finally nods in agreement, Louis wastes no time grabbing his wrist and leading the pair away to some sporting goods store.</p>
<p>----</p>
<p>Two hours later, Harry and Louis’ shopping time together was almost over. They both had each hand full with shopping bags, carrying new sneakers, sweats, jumpers, t-shirts, socks, etc. They even grabbed a nice pair of jeans for special occasions, and some swim trunks to use in the Tomlinsons’ pool during this blazing heat of a summer. Harry ended up picking a light blue pair with little green frogs, despite Louis’ protests that they weren’t ‘cool’ enough. “You can’t be serious” “But they’re cute!” “Swim trunks aren’t supposed to be ‘cute’ Harry,” “Well I like them, and besides, it's not like you have to wear them.” Louis seceded from the argument, as this was the first time that Harry actually let himself pick out something new without Louis’ insistence and encouragement. Louis smiled at the development. He supposed the trunks weren’t all that bad, anyway.</p>
<p>With only 15 minutes left before they were supposed to meet up with Jay and the girls, Harry froze, leaving Louis to walk on ahead before he noticed the boy’s absence and turned around. “Alright?” Louis asked.</p>
<p>“We totally forgot to get you something! I’m so sorry Louis, I got so caught up in shopping for me that I totally spaced the idea of shopping for you too.”</p>
<p>Louis chuckled at the flustered boy. “Don’t worry about it, I don’t need anything anyway. Besides, if I ever need anything, I can just ask one of the maids to pick it up for me.” </p>
<p>Harry shook his head, standing his ground. “No. Your mum said to get something for you, too.”</p>
<p>Louis rolled his eyes. “Our mum. And she said I could get something if I wanted, but I haven’t seen anything I liked so it’s all good, yeah? I’m fine, Harry.”</p>
<p>However, Harry held his ground and Louis couldn’t resist caving in. They had ten minutes left anyway, so they wandered around, window shopping for something that caught Louis’ eye. </p>
<p>Eventually Louis stopped in front of a kitchen appliance store, looking straight at a DIY snow cone machine. Harry saw the interaction, smiled, and went inside. It was cheap and probably not well made, but all Louis could think about these days were ways to alleviate the scorching heat. Even if they only got one use out of the machine, at least it might provide some fun and entertainment for an afternoon. Louis was sure his little sister’s would like it, too.</p>
<p>After making the purchase, hands now really overflowing with bags of new merchandise, the boys made their way back to the food court.</p>
<p>---- </p>
<p>The ride home was quieter than the first, with both Lottie and Felicite dozing off pretty quickly. Harry was content looking at the scenery out the window until he felt a buzz in his pocket. He jumped a little at the new sensation, eyes meeting Louis’ in the flip-down visor mirror. Louis smirked before returning his eyes to his own device.</p>
<p>Unnamed Contact: helllloooooo :))</p>
<p>Hazzaboo: Is this Louis?</p>
<p>Unnamed Contact: dont u dare put me in ur contacts as ‘Louis’<br/>
Unnamed Contact: thats so boring<br/>
Unnamed Contact: i will block u if u dont choose smthn more creative</p>
<p>Hazzaboo: …<br/>
Hazzaboo: Well what did you put me in your contacts as?</p>
<p>Unnamed Contact: hazzaboo, of course ;))</p>
<p>Hazzaboo: Hazzaboo?? Where did that nickname even come from??</p>
<p>Unnamed Contact: u dont like it? :((</p>
<p>Hazzaboo: …<br/>
Hazzaboo: I mean it's fine, I guess…<br/>
Hazzaboo: I never had a nickname back home so I guess it's just something to get used to.</p>
<p>Unnamed Contact: i guess ill have to change that then :))<br/>
Unnamed Contact: haz<br/>
Unnamed Contact: hazza<br/>
Unnamed Contact: curly<br/>
Unnamed Contact: harold<br/>
Unnamed Contact: h</p>
<p>Hazzaboo: HAHA okay you can stop now.</p>
<p>Louis turns towards the backseat to check out the questionably sarcastic/annoyed response, but found Harry actually smiling at his phone. The punctuation and the short laughter gave different vibes, but maybe Harry just wasn’t text savvy, seeing as he never had a phone before. Louis rolled his eyes at the idea that he’ll have to read Harry’s texts literally from now on to understand what he was saying. </p>
<p>Hazzaboo: Okay, I think I found a good contact name for you.</p>
<p>Unnamed Contact: oh yeah? lay it on me. lets see what u got</p>
<p>Hazzaboo: Drumroll please…</p>
<p>Unnamed Contact: 🥁🥁🥁</p>
<p>Hazzaboo: Loubear!</p>
<p>Loubear: loubear??<br/>
Loubear: thats too girly<br/>
Loubear: pick something else</p>
<p>Hazzaboo: Too late ;)<br/>
Hazzaboo: You think ‘Loubear’ is too girly but ‘Hazzaboo’ is good?</p>
<p>Loubear: …<br/>
Loubear: ok fine u have a good point<br/>
Loubear: i still dont approve tho, ill change it to something cooler when ur not looking<br/>
Loubear: like “Lord Tommo”</p>
<p>Hazzaboo: Aaaand I just added a passcode to my phone and I’m not telling you what it is. Sorry, looks like Loubear won’t be going any time soon.</p>
<p>Louis groans as they pull up in the driveway. Jay smiles looking between the boys, probably recognizing their silence and phones as virtual communication. </p>
<p>Louis holds Lottie’s hand as she stumbles out of the car half-asleep, picking up a still-snoozing Felicite in his other hand. “You guys bring the bags inside, yeah? I’m gonna go put the girls down for a nap.”</p>
<p>Jay places a kiss to Louis’ forehead thanking him for his help. Louis rolls his eyes but smiles at the gesture of affection. As the trio trots away, Harry meets Jay at the back of the car, alone together again for the first time since his adoption. </p>
<p>“Did you enjoy yourself today?” Jay asks, grabbing a couple bags in each hand for her first trip inside. </p>
<p>“Yes! I had lots of fun, really. Thank you so much for taking us out, and you know, paying for everything. I’m sorry I didn’t have enough saved up to pay for everything myself, or that I didn’t own this stuff in the first place.” Harry looks down towards his feet bashfully, avoiding Jay’s gentle gaze.</p>
<p>He looked up as he felt a hand caressing his soft curls, Jay having set her bags back down in the car to pull Harry into a comforting hug. “Harry, don’t apologize for that. You couldn’t help your previous situation, but you’re all taken care of now, yeah? I don’t want you to think of yourself as a burden to this family, you are every bit as much a part of the Tomlinsons as the rest of us.”</p>
<p>Harry sinks into her hug, allowing himself to wrap his arms around her torso in return. </p>
<p>“I’m so proud of you for being so strong and taking care of yourself after all these years, but you’re not alone anymore, yeah? I want you to be comfortable coming to me with any problem, no matter how small. I’m here for you, love.” Harry nods his head against her chest, acknowledging her words. “I know we didn’t get much time to talk yesterday before everything happened, but I really do want to sit down sometime soon, just you and me, so we can get to know each other a little better, yeah? Maybe have some tea or something?”</p>
<p>Harry pulls away from the hug and looks up at Jay with tear-glistened eyes. He offers a weak smile, wiping the back of his hand against his red-rimmed eyes as he sniffles. “Yeah, I think I’d like that.”</p>
<p>Jay pulls him into one more quick embrace with a kiss on the forehead. Louis has reached the age where he finds such a gesture embarrassing, but Harry absolutely lights up at the comfort of a mother’s affection. She smiles as she watches the boy happily scoop up a pile of bags in each hand, heading towards the front door to move everything inside, a smile on his face and a skip in his step. Although she barely knows him, the utter gratefulness and positive attitude Harry radiated only further solidified her suspicion that she found a good one, a diamond in the rust. Jay smiled to herself, grabbing the next load of bags to assist her newest son with his endeavor.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I feel like the fandom is so deprived of a healthy maternal relationship with Jay (she usually plays a homophobic/drug-addicted/absent character, which I totally understand as a necessary plotline in many fics, but I can only handle so much Jay slander.)</p>
<p>I’m so excited for Jay and Harry’s talk… who knows, maybe we’ll learn a little bit more about Harry’s past ;)))</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m trying to update every Sunday to keep things consistent. (Hopefully I don’t jinx myself and break my streak next week lol)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>(April 2nd, 2021)</p>
<p>Early update this week because I had more time to write! I’ll probably still put out a second chapter this weekend tho, as a bonus update!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sun’s rays shined harshly over Doncaster on this mid-August morning. It wasn’t even noon yet, but the UV index was high and the temperature was nearing the 40s. Louis wanted to stay inside and play videogames under the A/C, but Harry insisted it was the perfect weather to use the outdoor pool.</p>
<p>“It’s been years since I’ve gone swimming, I’m not even sure I remember how.”</p>
<p>Louis watched as Harry galloped over to the poolside in excitement, tiny green frogs moving against a sea of blue. Louis had to admit, although he thought they were weird at first, the frog swim trunks were growing on him. Harry had to shop in the clothes sized for 10-year-olds, so his options were a little more childish than that of a typical middle schooler. The small boy didn’t seem to mind, though.</p>
<p>“When’s the last time you went?” Louis asked, staking a claim to the lounge chair in the shade by draping his towel over it before anyone else. He couldn’t handle much more heat today.</p>
<p>“Hmm… maybe in 2012? My mates back in Manchester rented a pool for their birthdays sometimes, but I haven’t been since.” Harry dipped his toe in the water, relaxing into the cool temperature.</p>
<p>“That’s like four years ago!” Louis looked at Harry like he was a martian sent down from Mars. How has he gone so long without so much as a dip in a pool, lake, or ocean? “Did you used to live in Manchester?”</p>
<p>“Erm, yeah, that’s where I grew up.”</p>
<p>Harry stopped talking after that. Louis waited for him to continue, but Harry seemed to signal that the conversation about his past was done.</p>
<p>“No running!” Jay shouted after Lottie, who was doing a combination of skipping and speed-walking towards the edge of the pool. Felicite held Jay’s hand and showed no hurry in making it to the cool water. </p>
<p>“Catch me Lou!” Lottie shouted as she made her last few trots to the edge. She was headed towards an area too deep for her, but both her and Felicite had floaties over their swimsuits so they didn’t have to worry about swimming where they couldn’t reach.</p>
<p>Louis shielded his face from the large splash of water, coming from a six-year-old. When her head resurfaced, he splashed her back and pulled her further into the pool.</p>
<p>“Help me, Harry! I’m being abducted by a sea monster!” the girl squealed, laughter punctuating her thrashes to get away from Louis. Unfortunately, Louis was at least 12cm taller than Harry so he was deeper than Harry could reach. Harry just giggled at the two siblings, and went to the side of the pool where Jay was helping Felicite into the water. </p>
<p>Jay decided to relax on a lounge chair and read her book while the four kids played in the pool. Moving around while being five months pregnant was enough exercise for the day.</p>
<p>Louis and Lottie finally moved to the more shallow end and Louis got a devilish look on his face.</p>
<p>“...what?” Harry questioned, a look of nervous excitement filling his eyes.</p>
<p>“Have you ever played Chicken Wars?”</p>
<p>“Chicken Chicken!” Felicite shouted at the same time Lottie said “I call dibs on Harry!”</p>
<p>Harry looked at the trio confused, clearly having never heard of the popular pool game. </p>
<p>Louis explained the rules, and helped Lottie get up on Harry’s shoulders. Harry swayed a bit, but served as an overall steady base. Louis then picked up Felicite out of the water and set her on his own shoulders, struggling to stay sturdy with such a squirmy four-year-old as his partner. </p>
<p>They usually couldn’t play this game unless Stan was over, but recently he had grown tired of entertaining Louis’ younger sisters. Now they had four people again to make equal teams. Stan wasn’t much taller than Louis but he was stockier and more filled out, already growing out of the awkward, lanky-limbed era of adolescence. Lottie and Louis usually paired up to have more of a top advantage, while Felicite and Stan had a bottom advantage. However, because Harry was so small, it only made sense to switch up the teams again. </p>
<p>Jay pulled out her cellphone to record the kids, and doubled as the referee who called the start time. “On your marks… get set… GO!”</p>
<p>The pairs lunged at each other, Lottie and Felicite struggling to push each other off their partner’s shoulders. Harry held on for nearly a minute, but eventually ran out of strength to support his swaying partner. With one final push, Lottie hit the water and Felicite and Louis reigned champions. </p>
<p>In a lap around the dismantled duo, Louis and Felicite pranced through the water singing “We Are The Champions” by Queen in a cacophonous harmony. It sounded terrible, but Harry couldn’t help but giggle at the pair. </p>
<p>“Hey, no fair! Lou, you’re so much bigger than Harry so of course we lost.” Lottie crossed her arms and let out a huff. </p>
<p>“Yes, but your team had a much stronger fighter than ours did,” Louis offered with a wink. “Tough loss, better luck next time.”</p>
<p>Lottie turned to Harry. “You have to eat more and grow bigger so we win next time, okay? Be bigger than Louis, like Stan.”</p>
<p>Harry looked between Lottie and Louis. “Who’s Stan?”</p>
<p>“Just my closest mate, I’m sure you’ll meet him soon. We hang out all the time,” Louis shrugged.</p>
<p>“Kids, why don’t you hop out of the water and re-apply your sunscreen. It’s worn off by now and I don’t want you getting burnt.” Jay suggested.</p>
<p>The kids groaned and reluctantly got out of the water, following their mother’s orders.</p>
<p>“And remember to let it soak in before you get back in. Twenty minutes at least.”</p>
<p>“But Mum, it’s hot out. Even the shade is too warm,” Lottie complained and Felicite nodded her head in agreement.</p>
<p>“I have an idea! Stay right here,” Louis said, leaving the group to run inside. No less than a minute later, Louis reemerged holding a familiar box. </p>
<p>“Snow cones?” Harry asked, the girls squealing in excitement. </p>
<p>“Ta da!” Louis smirks proudly. “Sometimes I have the best ideas. Just call me ‘Tommo the Intelligent.’”</p>
<p>Harry snorted at the comment. </p>
<p>“Hey!” Louis poked Harry’s ribs, only making him giggle harder. His dimples formed deep craters in his cheeks and his eyes squinted in the corners, making the green less visible but no less vibrant in the summer sun. With the addition of Harry’s wet curls drying into soft springlets, Louis couldn’t help but smile at the glowing boy before him. Happiness was invented so that Harry could wear it. No other emotion deserved on this boy’s face. </p>
<p>Jay helps set up the machine while Louis reapplies his own sunscreen.</p>
<p>“Need help reaching your back?” Harry offered, once his fit of laughter died down. </p>
<p>Louis handed the bottle over and turned on his chair to make his back accessible. Louis doesn’t know much about Harry’s life before this, but he knows for sure that he doesn’t mind his presence. Even Mum seems happier now with the new boy in the family. Harry is kind, helpful, and cute, if not a little naive at times. He helps Louis feel like a kid again, and Louis helps bring that side of Harry out, too. </p>
<p>Louis chooses blue raspberry and cherry, and Harry chooses green apple flavoring for their snow cones. </p>
<p>“You must really like green apples.”</p>
<p>Harry blushes at the comment and shrugs. “‘S alright, I guess.” </p>
<p>Louis watches as the sheepishness and uncertainty reappears. He quickly decides that he doesn’t like Harry’s face when he’s nervous, he much prefers the smiling and carefree expression. “Hey, I didn’t mean that as a bad thing, yeah? I just noticed that you seem to pick that flavor and scent a lot. I think it’s good too.”</p>
<p>Harry’s mouth quirks up on the edges as he makes eye contact again. “Yeah?”</p>
<p>Louis smiles, happy that he could get his Harry back again. “Yeah.”</p>
<p>----</p>
<p>After finishing their snowcones and playing in the pool for another couple hours, Louis gets dressed and goes to Stan’s house to hang out and spend the night. After dinner with Jay and the three youngest kids (Mark was on a business trip), the four of them decided to have a movie night. </p>
<p>“Frozen!” The girls shouted, jumping on the couch in their nightgowns.</p>
<p>“I call Elsa!” Lottie shouted.</p>
<p>“I’ll be Anna!” Felicite squealed.</p>
<p>“Harry, you be Olaf since Louis is Kristoff and Stan is Sven.”</p>
<p>“Now, now girls, you need to ask Harry if he’s okay with watching Frozen. You have to agree together.” Jay scolds, wrapping the girls up in blankets and queuing the movie list on the TV. </p>
<p>Both girls look up at Harry with puppy dog eyes. “Please, can we watch Frozen Hazza?” Felicite begs.</p>
<p>Harry melts at the nickname. “I’ve never seen that movie before, but I’m sure it must be good since you guys like it so much. Of course we can wa--”</p>
<p>“YOU'VE NEVER SEEN FROZEN?!?!” Lottie shouted, louder than Harry had ever heard her shout before, and she shouts a lot. “MUM, HARRY’S NEVER SEEN FROZEN, WE HAVE TO WATCH IT NOW.”</p>
<p>Jay smiles and pets Lottie’s hair to calm her down. She winks at Harry on her other side and presses a kiss to Lottie’s hair while the TV loads the animated film.</p>
<p>By the time the movie is over, Lottie and Felicite have fallen asleep on each other, Jay sandwiched between the girls and Harry on the large couch. </p>
<p>“Stay here, love, I’m just going to tuck them in and then we can have a little chat.”</p>
<p>Harry started to stand up. “Do you need help? I can carry one of them up, too.”</p>
<p>Jay smiled and shook her head. “I’ll be fine, this will just take a minute.”</p>
<p>Harry watched as Jay scooped them up, one girl in each arm. It was like watching a superhero, the woman able to carry two humans like they weighed nothing, without waking either of them up, AND while being five months pregnant. Harry could tell that Jay had experience and that she truly loved her kids. </p>
<p>He watched the credits roll, ending just as Jay returned. She wasn’t underestimating herself when she said it would take a minute. Jay used the remote to switch off the TV, then settled back down on the couch next to Harry. </p>
<p>“How are you doing?” Jay asked, making eye contact with her newest son.</p>
<p>“I’m good, how are you?” </p>
<p>Jay smiled at the niceties but shook her head. “I mean how are you really doing, Harry. I know your whole world has been turned upside down in the past week, and I know that can be a lot to adjust to.”</p>
<p>Harry offered a weak smile and looked at his fidgeting hands.</p>
<p>“It’s been a huge difference from what I’m used to. I can’t believe how lucky I got meeting you. Everything here is so amazing, I feel like I’m going to wake up from a dream tomorrow.”</p>
<p>Jay reached over and grabbed the boy’s left hand in her own. She gave it a small squeeze and began massaging his palm, a soothing habit she developed to comfort her children.</p>
<p>“Would you maybe want to talk a little bit about your past with me? I realize I don’t know much about you before the day we met, and I feel like I could support you better if I had some background information. I want you to know that nothing you say will affect the way you are treated in this family. It’s okay if you’d rather not talk, but I want you to understand that I will always be here for you.”</p>
<p>Harry stayed quiet and looked down at their hands for a bit. Jay almost gave up, accepting the silence as the end of their conversation, before Harry finally spoke. </p>
<p>“I’ve never had a mother before.” </p>
<p>It was such a quiet admission, it couldn’t be heard by anyone not specifically listening to the boy. Jay waited for Harry to continue, to share as much as he was comfortable with. </p>
<p>“My mum died while she was giving birth to me, or so I’ve been told, so I never really met her. I’ve seen a couple pictures before, but they were so old and it's been so long that I don’t remember what she looks like anymore.”</p>
<p>Jay squeezed his hand tighter, beckoning him to continue. </p>
<p>“My dad was the one who raised me for most of my life. Until I was nine, I lived with him. He never remarried, never even had a girlfriend. He couldn’t get over Mum, I think. I used to have a sister too, she was three years older than me. She was my best friend. Used to protect me from things, and hurt herself instead.”</p>
<p>“Protect you from what?” Jay asked. She regretted doing so as she saw Harry quiet down, contemplation in his eyes. She should have let him continue at his own pace. Eventually the boy took a breath and continued.</p>
<p>“Dad used to have… some problems. Working a lot and being a single father of two kids was a lot to handle, so sometimes he would go out drinking. At first it was rare, but soon became more common for him to come home drunk than not. He would…” Harry paused, looking up at Jay and back down at their hands again. Jay reached her other hand behind his back, rubbing in small circles as she listened. </p>
<p>“He would sometimes hit me. He would say it was my fault that Mum died, that I was the one who killed her.” A single tear slid down Harry’s cheek. “I know he didn’t mean it, not really, because he was so much nicer when he was sober. By the time I was eight, I rarely saw him sober anymore. Sometimes Gemma and I wouldn’t see him for days at a time, because he was gone somewhere drinking.”</p>
<p>“Gemma?” Jay inquired, leaving the question open-ended for Harry’s decision on how to answer.</p>
<p>“Gems is my sister. She was only eleven at the time, but when he would come home angry, she would step in front of me and take his hits, or force me in the closet and stand guard outside until it was safe for me to come out. Dad wasn’t directly angry at her and he didn’t like hitting girls, so she would usually come out in better shape than me anyway.”</p>
<p>Jay felt her heart breaking listening to these admissions. She tried to stay calm and gentle, but her urge to pull Harry into a bone-crushing hug grew more each second. She continued her little squeezes and rubs, listening to the rest of Harry’s story.</p>
<p>“When I turned nine, one of the neighbors saw a particularly bad incident and called child protective services on Dad. They came during one of his disappearances. It had been two days since we’d seen him, and they asked if we had any other relatives to stay with. I never knew any grandparents or aunts or uncles. Other than my school friends, we never really saw anyone else.” </p>
<p>Harry took another deep breath and continued.</p>
<p>“They took us to my first orphanage when we had nowhere to go and no one to take care of us. It wasn’t too bad, I still had Gemma to protect me. She was so young but she was so protective, I’d almost call her more my mum than my sister.” Harry smiled at the memory. “Kids my age rarely get homes, you know? The babies and toddlers go the fastest, since parents want a clean slate to raise a kid from. We had so many interviews I lost count after the first six months. Finally a family came along that seemed interested in Gemma and I, but when they came back the next day, they only signed the paperwork for her and not me.”</p>
<p>Jay couldn’t take it anymore. She dropped Harry’s hand and scooped him up in a bear hug, finally letting her own tears roll down her face. He had been through so much at such a young age, and he wasn’t even at the end of his story yet. She couldn’t help but sob at the thought of Harry being separated from his sister, the only person that was ever there for him. </p>
<p>Harry spent a few minutes crying into Jay’s chest, but eventually calmed down and got his own breathing under control, still cuddled up to her so he couldn’t see her face anymore. Her arms were so comforting and her gentle rubs on his back gave him the strength to continue. </p>
<p>“I guess they decided I had been at that orphanage for too long. I had seen all the kids come and go, and there were no longer familiar faces from when I first got there. That’s when they decided to ship me out of Manchester, because Doncaster had better resources and better luck with getting older kids, like me, a home. I got to St. Christopher’s Home for Orphaned Kids when I turned ten. I went through the same processes of interviews and rejections, but eventually gave up. It was the same thing everyday of helping prepare food, doing my homework, and taking care of the younger kids.”</p>
<p>“You had to take care of them?” Jay whispered, petting Harry’s hair.</p>
<p>Harry nodded against her chest. “They were understaffed and underfunded so us older kids had to help out. It was too much for us to go away for school, so we learned from home so we would be there to help out when they needed us. Plus, school is expensive and they didn’t have enough to send us all.”</p>
<p>Jay thought back to her memories of the run-down building and hand-me-down clothes. She made a mental note to talk to her husband and discuss sending more money to the orphanage. She knew very well that the Tomlinson Foundation had more than enough to afford a few more donations per year, and the institution was in desperate need of a renovation and some more funds.</p>
<p>“Sometimes when I needed a break, I would wander around downtown. It was nice having a change of scenery, and getting to watch different people living their lives. I never had any troubles and I was mostly invisible until the day I met you. I know how hard it can be to get money sometimes, but I still don’t think people should stoop so low as to rob someone else. That’s why I ran after the thief. Plus, you looked pregnant so I knew you couldn’t catch him by yourself.”</p>
<p>Jay offered a choked laugh, smiling into the boy’s hair with tears still filling her eyes.</p>
<p>“And I’m so thankful for that. Not just for getting my stuff back, but because I met you out of that experience. You truly are a wonderful boy, Harry, and I already feel like you’re every bit my son as Louis is.”</p>
<p>Harry didn’t show his face, but he wrapped his arms tighter around Jay. She kissed the top of his head and pulled back, cupping his face in her hands to look into his piercing green eyes, brightened by the tears he shed.</p>
<p>“Thank you for sharing with me, love. I know that must be hard to talk about.”</p>
<p>Harry gave a weak smile, sniffling as he wiped his eyes with the back of his wrist.</p>
<p>“Thank you for listening, Jay.”</p>
<p>Jay smiled and shook her head. “You know Harry, since I already think of you as my son, I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to call me Mum? There’s no pressure of course, if that makes you uncomfortable, but if you’d rather refer to me as that then I would be absolutely ecstatic.”</p>
<p>Harry’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second before returning to normal. “Really? That… would be okay with you? If I called you Mum?”</p>
<p>Jay smiled wide and wrapped the boy in another bear hug. “Absolutely it would. It would make me so happy” </p>
<p>They stayed cuddled up for another minute before Harry spoke again. “Would you mind not telling Louis about this? I haven’t had a friend my age in so long, and I like how he treats me like I’m normal. I don’t really want him to pity me.”</p>
<p>Jay was quick to affirm his request, hearing the hesitancy in his voice. “Of course. I’m always here for you to talk about anything, but it’s your story to share, if you ever want to. I won’t cross those boundaries, you can tell him when you’re ready.”</p>
<p>Harry nods his head and lets out a quiet “Thank you.”</p>
<p>“Anything for you, love. I love you, Harry.”</p>
<p>There was a pause before a quiet noise could be heard, muffled by Jay’s jumper. “I love you too… Mum.”</p>
<p>Harry quickly fell asleep, exhausted by the sun, the late night, and the tears. The day had totally drained him. Jay carefully lifted the small boy and carried him off to his own room. She was confused to see the room unoccupied, belongings nowhere in sight. Jay followed her sneaking suspicions and walked down the hall towards Louis’ wing of the house. She pushed open the door of the smaller guest bedroom, and saw his swim trunks hanging up in the bathroom and his backpack on the couch. Jay smiled at the thought that her sons were getting closer, already doing things together without her knowledge. </p>
<p>Jay pulled back the covers and laid the sleeping boy on the mattress, tucking him in tight. She pushed back his curls and kissed his forehead with one last “Goodnight, Harry,” before letting herself out and closing his door.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Good news is I finally wrote out an outline for the first half of this story so I have a plan for what’s going to happen. The bad news is it looks like it will be chapter 20 before we flash forward four years into the future (oops lol please be patient with me). I just want some good character development and back story first, I hate when fics move too fast and the characters suddenly change with no gradual development.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter Six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>(April 4th, 2021)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry had been living with the Tomlinsons for two weeks now. Louis had slowly developed a routine of getting used to Harry as his brother, finally adapting to the new set of circumstances. Lottie and Felicite adapted on the first day, and quickly learned to treat Harry exactly the same as their other older brother, if not favoring the new boy a little more than Louis. He didn’t mind though, sometimes it felt nice to have their attention and needs shifted somewhere else. </p>
<p>Other than going to the store once more, Harry hadn’t left the Tomlinson Residence. They never had to go grocery shopping because the chefs took care of that, and the maids purchased all other goods they needed, so there wasn’t much of an excuse to go out.</p>
<p>August was nearing its end, and there was finally a day cool enough to withstand the outside temperatures. It was partly cloudy with a gentle breeze, and Louis decided it was the perfect day to introduce Stan and Harry, his two best mates.</p>
<p>“What’s up Hazza? What’s on the itinerary for the day?” Louis invites himself into Harry’s room, throwing himself over the small couch. Harry never complained or made any mention towards Louis’ presence in his space, so he saw no reason to stop or hold back. </p>
<p>Harry shrugged and set his book down. Jay had recently bought him a collection of novels from an author Harry really enjoyed, and he had been plowing through them, finishing nearly one every day. “I don’t have much planned, why, what’s up?”</p>
<p>“Do you wanna meet my friend Stan? We’re meeting up in the park today to play some footie and hang. Come with me?” Louis obnoxiously batted his eyes, failing to look endearing at all. Harry giggled at his efforts, making Louis frown at his reaction. “It’ll be fun, I promise.” Louis stood up to grab Harry’s arm, swinging it back and forth as he pleaded. “Pleeeeeease please please pl--”</p>
<p>“Alright, alright. I’ll come with you. But don’t expect me to play with you guys, I don’t know how.”</p>
<p>Louis jumped up from the bed and ran to Harry’s closet, grabbing the new sneakers they purchased at the mall earlier that month. They were still clean and unused in the box. </p>
<p>“I’ll teach you! Dad taught me to play when I was little and I’ve played on the school team for as long as I’ve been allowed to. I might even be team captain this year. Just call me the next Xavi Hernandez.” Louis poses with his hands on his hips, proudly puffing his chest out as if he were posing for non-existent photographs.</p>
<p>“Uh… who?”</p>
<p>Louis rolled his eyes. He knew Harry never got into sports all that much, but shouldn’t he at least know one of the most famous midfielders of all time? I mean honestly, how sheltered could this boy get? It was up to him to educate Harry on the importance of football, as well as how to play it.</p>
<p>“Just say you’ll try, yeah? It’s just for fun, we aren’t playing a real scrimmage or anything, I promise it’ll be fun. Or maybe who knows, I might be such a good teacher that we find out you’re a prodigy and you’ll become the best football player of our generation!”</p>
<p>Harry giggled at Louis’ monologue. “Okay, sure. You can try to teach me and I’ll try my best.”</p>
<p>---- </p>
<p>Harry knew he was clumsy. He was faster than a lot of kids his age, sure, but he could rarely get anywhere without tripping over his own two left feet, especially when a ball was involved. He didn’t really have an avid interest in football, but Louis’ eyes sparkled from excitement when he talked of the sport, which convinced Harry to at least give it a try. It wouldn’t hurt to try and learn one of Louis’ hobbies, plus he had heard a lot about this ‘Stan’ and wanted to meet him. He was Louis’ best friend, after all.</p>
<p>When the pair arrived in the park, there were a lot of people there. It was finally nice weather considering the season, so the playground was filled with children and watchful parents, and the field had a few groups of kids playing frisbee or catch, or even just running through the grass. Harry smiled at the view. </p>
<p>Very rarely did St. Christopher’s do outings to the parks, and when they did, Harry would help the younger children climb the jungle gyms or catch them at the end of the slides. There were usually so many kids to keep track of that the adults requested his help in keeping them safe and within the designated play area. He didn’t mind, not really. It was cute watching the little ones toddle around, laughter spiking the air as they played. He had his childhood at school when he was younger, plus, there were rarely any kids his age who wanted to play more fun and complex games, such as Groundies.</p>
<p>This was Harry’s first time at a park without other responsibilities in years. To say he was nervous was an understatement. He was excited too, but he had kind of forgotten what kids his age were supposed to do for fun, and how they were supposed to act. With both homeschooling and being the oldest kid at the orphanage, Harry hadn’t interacted with kids his age (besides Louis of course) in years. It had taken him long enough to get used to that, but now he had to meet another boy who Louis was already close with, and play a game he has no experience with.</p>
<p>Harry took a deep breath to sooth his nerves and took a look around. He didn’t have a description for who he was looking for, but he thought he could pick out a kid his age who looked dressed to play football. His attention was drawn when a shout and a movement was made beside him. Louis had spotted Stan, and was waving as he and Harry made their way over.</p>
<p>Harry’s breath was knocked out of his chest as his eyes followed Louis’ line of sight, and landed on someone who could’ve passed for three grade levels above them. If Louis was huge compared to Harry, then Stan was a giant. Louis was 12cm taller than Harry, but at least he was still thin and lanky, growing into his height. Stan was close to the same height as Louis, only a little taller, but he had already filled out. He was burly and muscular, with biceps larger than Harry’s thighs. He looked like he could snap Harry like a twig if he tried.</p>
<p>Forget what he said about wanting to meet Louis’ best friend, this stranger was much too intimidating for Harry’s liking. </p>
<p>Harry stayed back and watched the two friends interact and greet each other. Stan offered an almost-smile to Louis and seemed somewhat pleased to see him. Harry took a deep breath. If Louis liked him so much, and the girls liked him enough to play pool games and watch Frozen with him, he must be a good person. He’s probably a teddy bear under that intimidating appearance.</p>
<p>Before Harry had the time to process if he really wanted to do this, Louis was already pulling him into the conversation.</p>
<p>“Stan, this is my brother Harry. Harry, this is my best friend Stan.”</p>
<p>Harry offered a small nod, unsure of what to do in this situation. Stan made that decision for him, reaching out his hand to shake.</p>
<p>“What’s up, buddy? I’ve heard a bit about you and how you were adopted into the Tomlinsons. How’s that been going? I feel sorry that you have to live with those two little girls, God knows they can be annoying little fuckers.”</p>
<p>Harry wrinkles his nose at the comment, but Louis starts to laugh. Maybe Stan’s joking? Perhaps that’s their kind of relationship, to poke fun at Louis’ sisters when he actually cares for them and likes spending time with them. Harry is brought out of his thoughts when Louis elbows him in the ribs, realizing he hasn’t said anything back yet.</p>
<p>“Er-- they’ve been great. Same as Louis, everyone’s really welcomed me into the family. It’s nice to meet you.” He offers a winning smile, one that’s been practiced and used on interviewing potential adoptive parents. It never worked, obviously, but it still seems to charm well when he needs to.</p>
<p>“Right,” Stan deadpans. Harry wonders if he said something wrong. Louis seems pleased enough with the interaction, sitting on a nearby bench to put on his proper sneakers. “Well, ever played footie before?”</p>
<p>Harry shakes his head.</p>
<p>“Maybe once you get into middle school you’ll have more opportunities, since they have actual teams and such. But for now Louis and I can get you up to speed.”</p>
<p>Middle school? Harry’s technically been in middle school for two years now, and he’s about to start his last year. How old does Stan think he is? He thought Louis told Stan about him?</p>
<p>“Um… I’m starting Year 8, same as you guys.”</p>
<p>“Shit, are you like wicked smart or something?” Stan’s eyes widened</p>
<p>Harry internally rolls his eyes but keeps his face neutral on the outside. Another skill he taught himself from potential adoptive parent interviews. “No, I’m thirteen. Only a month younger than Louis.”</p>
<p>By this point, Louis has finished putting on his shoes and rejoined the conversation. He wrapped an arm over Harry’s smaller frame, resting on his shoulders.</p>
<p>“I probably should’ve mentioned that beforehand, my bad,” Louis chuckles, “He may look small, but that’s just because he hasn’t hit his growth spurt yet. Same age and same grade as us, though.”</p>
<p>Stan gave Harry a look that he couldn’t quite read. A smirk? Disdain? Harry couldn’t tell. But it didn’t matter, the moment was over when Louis pulled out his ball. Stan put on some gloves and walked over to a net on the field.</p>
<p>“Let’s start with some passing, yeah? Show me what you got.” Louis kicked the ball in Harry’s direction, and Harry managed to catch the pass, albeit ungracefully. “Good, now kick it back.” </p>
<p>Louis had moved further away, so Harry had to kick the ball pretty far. He swung his leg pretty forcefully, but somehow missed the ball completely. He tried again and made contact, although the ball rolled away at an angle and Louis had to jog to catch it before it went too far. </p>
<p>“Sorry,” Harry murmured sheepishly. He knew he wasn’t going to be good at this, it wasn’t nearly as easy as Louis made it seem.</p>
<p>Louis laughed and Harry felt even smaller. This wasn’t his world, he didn’t belong here. He felt much more comfortable at home playing dolls with the girls or reading in his room. But he knew this meeting was important to Louis, so he didn’t want to give up just yet. Louis had all but begged him to be here, after all. </p>
<p>“Better than me the first time I tried.” Louis continued to giggle.</p>
<p>“Really?” Harry lifted his gaze to meet Louis’ eyes again. He couldn’t tell if he was lying to make him feel better or not. Louis always seemed to be such a natural at the sport.</p>
<p>“Honest. Took me nearly an hour to actually make contact with the ball, my foot kept missing. I was so frustrated but Dad made me keep trying until we got it.” </p>
<p>Harry smiled a bit at the thought of a baby Louis throwing a tantrum for missing the ball over and over again. Logically, Harry knew that he shouldn’t feel proud about being a better first-time footie player than a toddler, but somehow still felt comforted by Louis’ reassurances. Harry took a deep breath and shook the tension out of his shoulders, feeling more welcomed despite the significant skill deficit between himself and the other two boys. He vowed to try to have fun and learn without dwelling too much on his own shortcomings.</p>
<p>The boys practiced passing the ball back and forth for a while, before Louis decided to change the focus to scoring goals. He explained the rules of where to aim the ball and how to properly swing his foot to get the ball to go where he wants. Stan took the position of goalie and prepared to stop all of Harry’s shots. He was nervous as is, and with Stan’s giant build blocking half the net anyway, Harry’s hopes for making any shots was next to none. The look in Stan’s eye seemed to convey that he wasn’t going to go easy on Harry, despite this being his first time.</p>
<p>Louis demonstrated first, and made a little more than half of his attempts into the goal. It was amazing watching him play; even up close, Louis would sike out the direction Harry thought he was going to go, and hit the ball with his other foot or at another angle. It looked advanced for their age, and Harry knew Louis deserved every bit of being captain this year, even though he hadn’t seen any of the other players on the team. It was good for him like this, just watching and admiring. He didn’t really want to give it a try himself, but Louis was really passionate about teaching him, so he went with it and followed directions as best he could.</p>
<p>Not well enough, apparently, because Louis had to correct his form as he prepared to take a shot. </p>
<p>“Your whole body goes into it. You have to line your shoulders and hips up as you swing as well. No, relax more. Not that much. You have to snap your hips closed when you swing, No. Here, let me just--”</p>
<p>Louis walked over and started fixing Harry’s form while he stood still, trying to take in and understand what Louis was telling him to do. He smiled at his inability to move his body properly, despite trying to follow the proper directions. He knew this was going to happen. Louis seemed to have the same thoughts as he smiled too, and began to giggle at how Harry’s body wouldn’t move how he wanted it, even if shifted manually. Eventually both boys were giggling, with Louis moving Harry’s body around like a wax figure, no longer precise adjustments. They were in their own little world of LouisandHarry, as they often were, before they noticed Stan’s presence again, arms crossed over his chest and tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for the shot. </p>
<p>“Gross, are you guys dating or something? Guys don’t touch each other like that,” Stan spat.</p>
<p>Louis immediately froze and removed his hands from Harry, taking a step back to maintain a safe distance. His face fell into an unreadable expression. Embarrassment? Guilt? Disgust? Harry felt himself saddened by the turn of events. He and Louis weren’t like that, they were brothers. They were just messing around and Louis was trying to help him out, but now he felt the need to distance himself because of Stan’s comment.</p>
<p>“Erm-- you’re probably good like that. You can try to take the shot now.”</p>
<p>Harry knew his form was worse than before, when he had Louis’ help. The mood had shifted and he no longer wanted to play anymore. He was doing this for Louis’ sake, but even Louis didn’t seem to be enjoying himself anymore. Harry had only just met Stan but already carried a sort of dislike for the boy. He knew he should keep an open mind, and try to accept Louis’ best friends, but his comments to himself and Louis so far had made it hard to like the boy. Harry sighed and took the shot, eager to get the day over with. It rolled straight over to Stan, and he stopped the ball by placing a foot on top of it, not even needing to move the rest of his body. </p>
<p>----</p>
<p>When a chauffeur came to pick them up, Louis climbed into the front seat, leaving Harry in the back by himself. They were quiet on the way home. Harry wanted to ask if they were still okay after the day, but Louis seemed to want some space right now. </p>
<p>When they got home, Louis walked straight into his room and closed his door behind himself, clearly not an invitation for him and Harry to talk.</p>
<p>Harry didn’t do anything wrong, at least, he didn’t think so. But if he did, he wanted to apologise to Louis as soon as possible and ask what he could do to fix it. Louis had become his best friend over the past couple weeks, and he didn’t want to lose that connection because of a single afternoon. </p>
<p>Harry sighed, trudged himself into his own room, and flopped over the soft bed. He still couldn’t believe this was his room sometimes, he was never used to having a nice mattress before, even when he lived with his dad. The welcoming comforter enveloped him, whisking him into a deep sleep, despite his sneakers and sweaty t-shirt he still had on. He will try to talk to Louis again tomorrow.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you guys think so far! How are we feeling about Stan? Did you like the Harry POV or should I keep it Louis/Jay?</p>
<p>Also for the purposes of this chapter, it made more sense to refer to the American elementary(1-5)/middle(6-8)/high(9-12) school system, it made it easier to section out the different stages (although I did still say year instead of grade. Sorry if this is getting confusing, hopefully that makes sense). But this story is still set in Doncaster!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter Seven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>(April 11th, 2021)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It’s been a week since the footie incident, and Louis still hasn’t gone back to normal. He stopped his silent treatment pretty quick, but Harry can still sense that something is off. Louis will still be playful and funny when his sisters or Jay is present, but none of his remarks are directed at Harry anymore. When the two are alone, Louis is quick to come up with an excuse; he was going to Stan’s house, he needed a nap, and even claimed that he had summer homework to complete--did they even have summer homework? Harry didn’t think so, otherwise Jay would’ve told him about it before the school year started. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In the few weeks following his adoption, Harry had grown used to Louis’ constant company. Every day Louis would seek him out, usually in his room, and insist they play video games or go swimming. When Jay would leave the house while Mark was at work, Louis and Harry would keep their younger sisters company and play with them, too. Harry found himself dressed in a boa and tiara on more than one occasion; dress-up was Fiz and Lottie’s favorite game (Harry started calling Felicite ‘Fiz’ on account of her tantrum that Lottie got a nickname but she didn’t). Sometimes Louis would spend afternoons napping on Harry’s couch while he read his novels. They had developed a self-dependent routine with each other that felt so normal and </span>
  <em>
    <span>right</span>
  </em>
  <span> that Harry didn’t even realize how much of his time was spent in Louis’ company until Louis gave him the cold shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry sits at the kitchen island, eating his cereal and tea by himself. It has been six days of this now, and Harry is starting to get antsy. At the orphanage, the kitchen and dining areas were always the most busy and hectic parts of the building, especially in the mornings. Since moving in with the Tomlinsons, Harry eats with Louis every day. Or at least he used to. The girls wake up so early in the morning that they are usually fed and in the playroom before 8:00am. Louis and Harry tend to stir around the same time, and eat together at 9:00am before going about their daily activities. In the past week, however, Louis has been getting up early to eat or just skipping breakfast altogether. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry sighs as he brings his dishes to the sink. He misses Louis. He was more like a friend than a brother, something Harry hasn’t had since he was nine years old, since he was often the oldest at the orphanage and was homeschooled. Speaking of, he is supposed to start his first day of private school today. Jay took him shopping for a backpack, school supplies, and his uniforms yesterday. At dinner the night before, she made Louis promise to show Harry around, introduce him to his friends, and make him feel comfortable at the new school. Louis had readily agreed and smiled throughout supper. Jay seemed content with his answer and didn’t push further; Louis was good at acting around his family so they didn’t notice any difference in his behavior from a week ago. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If he was already off-put by the fact that Louis is </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> ignoring him, the idea of going to a new type of school where he doesn’t know anyone and doesn’t know how to act properly is downright terrifying. A normal public school he could probably handle, but the Tomlinsons insisted that Harry go to the expensive private school with Louis. The uniforms alone are more fancy than any dress clothes Harry’s owned before, and the idea of staining or damaging them makes Harry even more nervous.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>How do private school kids act? Do they already have cliques formed from years of schooling together? Do they talk about fancy cars or watches or something else Harry has no experience in? Will they be able to tell that he’s from a different background, and will they make fun of him for it? The only experience Harry’s has had outside of Louis so far has been Stan, and he seemed less than thrilled about Harry’s presence. He also pointed out Harry’s small stature, contributing to another insecurity, isolating him further from these other classmates his age. Louis didn’t seem bothered by his size, but maybe he was just being nice because Jay asked him too. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry hugged and kissed Jay and the girls goodbye before heading out to the car so he and Louis could be driven to school. Jay offered to take them, which would’ve soothed Harry’s nerves a bit, but Louis insisted that they were too old to be seen with their Mum and wanted the chauffeur to take them instead.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Louis took the front again, and Harry sat in the back, staring out the window while nervously thrumming his fingers against his thighs.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>----</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Louis was dreading the end of his summer freedoms. School itself was alright, but the homework was nothing if not annoying and unnecessary. Some of the teachers were bad too, talking too slow and monotone to maintain Louis’ attention. He also didn’t enjoy the prospect of having to wake up early and sit through seven hours of lectures under fluorescent lights. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The one thing he was looking forward to, though, was football tryouts, which would start today after school. He had no doubts he would get a spot on the team, he was the best midfielder out of everyone trying out, after all. His nervous qualms rather resided with the prospect of getting captain. The coach wouldn’t announce his pick until a week after school started, giving the team some time to figure out its teamwork dynamic and see who has the best leadership on the team. The other contenders would be the goalie, Stan, and the striker, which might be Ed or Liam depending on who does better during tryouts. Louis has more competition that he’s comfortable with, and if he’s being honest, they would all do a great job at leading the team. However, Louis’ dad, Mark Tomlinson, is very involved in the school footie team and is good friends with the coach. Sometimes Louis would even get extra practice hours while the adults caught up and talked business. The Tomlinson Foundation was always the biggest contributor during fundraiser events, donating to the football team separately from what they provided to the school in general. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>For the past week Louis’ been avoiding Harry a little bit. He doesn’t necessarily try to do it on purpose, it just doesn’t feel right to be so close with him anymore. The conversation from the day Harry met Stan still rings in his mind.</span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Gross, are you guys dating or something? Guys don’t touch each other like that.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Stan had a point. He and Harry were perhaps a bit too comfortable with touching each other. He had been friends with Stan for seven years, and they never touched each other while playing around, let alone </span>
  <em>
    <span>giggled</span>
  </em>
  <span> at it. Louis felt weird just thinking about what his and Harry’s relationship had once been. It was better for him to keep his distance.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The chauffeur pulled up in the drop-off line outside the school, and Louis jumped out. Harry tentatively followed him from behind, shoulders hunched forward and head tilted forward, curls falling in his eyes. He surveyed the campus as they approached the gates, taking in the new surroundings. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Louis spotted Stan over by the entrance, and started heading off before he paused, realizing he should probably talk to Harry before just ditching him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, um, well, finding your classes should be pretty self-explanatory seeing as all the hallways are labeled. And text me, I guess, if you need something or whatever. I’m staying late after school for football tryouts so you can just leave without me, someone will come pick me up later.” He waits for a response, and heads off towards Stan after catching a curt nod from the smaller boy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>----</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry felt more out of his element than he had ever before. Every person walking around the huge courtyard was dressed in the same white polo and khaki pants or navy skirt combo, perfectly tailored and pressed free of wrinkles or imperfections. The girls were wearing makeup that looked far too skilled for that of a middle schooler, and the boys all had perfectly styled quiffs, gelled and sprayed into place. Harry looked down at his own appearance, shirt sitting slightly askew on his too-slim shoulder, and baggy on the rest of his too-small frame. Even his trousers were too long, bunching at his ankles. His hair was a mess of curls, too unruly to fix with gel or other styling product, not that Harry even knew how to do his own hair. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>To make matters worse, Louis had completely ditched him as soon as they entered school grounds. He knew deep down that Louis wouldn’t accompany him everywhere like Jay had asked, but he still hoped that he might stick around a bit longer, at least giving Harry a small tour of the school or showing him where his first class is. Technically he offered for Harry to text if he needed anything, but it seemed more like a compulsory offer than a genuine one, so Harry isn’t going to ask for help from Louis. He can figure this out himself. It can’t be that difficult, right?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Wrong. Harry is two minutes late to his first class since he can’t seem to find the right classroom. Every hallway he walked through seemed to house classes for those in Year 6, which makes sense because they were the easiest rooms to find. Most people had been going to this school for two years already, so eighth years were expected to know their way around already. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>By the time he finally finds his class for English Literature, class has already started. He tried to slide in without interruption, and the teacher gave him a look for being late on the first day. Harry murmured an apology and slid to the back to sit in the last open seat, in the corner by the window. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You new around here?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry snapped his head up from his focus on setting up his notebook and pen, finally surveying the room of students for the first time since entering the room. He startles to find that the voice came from a boy sitting to his left, directed at himself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Erm--yeah. I just transferred here,” Harry replied, keeping his voice down to a whisper as the teacher started going over the syllabus.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh sick, where ‘ya from?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry looked around to see if other students noticed their conversation, but nobody was paying them any mind.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, well I grew up in Manchester, but I was homeschooled before this if that’s what you’re asking.” Harry cringed at his admission. Most people take homeschooled kids to be weird outcasts, and he promised himself not to admit that to anyone before the school year started, so as to not alienate himself further. It’s been less than a minute and he already broke that rule. Harry internally sighed. Oh well, hopefully this kid won’t be interested enough to spread that information around.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Cool. What’s your name?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Harry.” He was a little relieved that the boy didn’t seem too off-put by his admission, and was glad that he was still talking to him despite the class around them. He didn’t have any friends in Doncaster, so it wouldn’t hurt to mingle around and make some acquaintances at school besides Louis. “What’s your name?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Luke.” The boy smiled at Harry. “Nice to meet you, Harold.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“‘S not my name.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>By this point, the teacher stopped her introduction to look at the pair of boys in the back. “Malak, er--” She looked down at her roster to find the new name she didn’t recognize. “Styles, do you need to take this outside so my teaching doesn’t interfere with your important conversation?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luke gave her a beaming smile. “Nope, we’re done. Please, carry on.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The teacher rolled her eyes at his granted permission, but carried on anyway.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry could feel a flush growing up the back of his neck and reaching his face. He didn’t like the attention of the teacher and his classmates resting on him, so he hid his face in his hands until he felt normal enough to tune back in and take notes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>----</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry’s first two classes had been pretty uneventful, just going over syllabi and class introductions. There hadn’t really been a chance to talk to his peers outside of that short interaction with Luke, but Harry has higher hopes for his third class. This is his last class before lunch, which is exciting enough, but it's also Art, so the desks will probably be arranged in big tables rather than individual spaces, all facing the front of the class. He also might have better opportunities to talk to his peers instead of listening to the teacher the whole time. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry approaches his class on time; he found this classroom while looking for his first class this morning. He gets there early enough to have a choice at seats. He keeps his head down to not draw too much attention, looking for a spot in the front of the classroom.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You, Harry, mate!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry looks around for the owner of the voice, to see if he was being addressed. ‘Harry’ is a fairly common name, he wouldn’t be surprised if someone else was being summoned. To his surprise, for the second time that day, Harry was being addressed by none other than Luke-from-first-period. Harry already kind of knew Luke, and he had no one else to sit with, so he figured this would be his safest option. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry made his way to the back of the classroom with a tentative smile on his face. Luke was early too, and the only one at the table so far, so Harry didn’t have to make awkward introductions with any of Luke’s other friends. Luke patted the chair next to himself so Harry would know where to sit.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good to see ya again, mate.” Luke clapped Harry on the shoulder once he got himself adjusted in his seat. “So, you into art?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not sure, I haven’t really done it before. My Mum and the principal worked together to make a class schedule for me, so I didn’t really choose my own electives.” Luke already knew that Harry was homeschooled, so he didn’t see a problem in disclosing his inexperience in all these subjects that most students at this school already knew.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll love it, I’m sure. This is my favorite class and my third time taking it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry’s mouth gaped at that. How can someone love a class so much but do so bad that they need to repeat the credit so many times?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luke seemed to catch Harry’s confusion. “It’s not what you’re thinking, I never failed this class.” He chuckled and shook his head. Harry raised an eyebrow, waiting for Luke’s explanation. “You can retake electives and still get credit for it. Everyone is required to take at least one elective per year, and most people switch it up between the years, but I had no interest in physical sports or photography or computer programming, among the other options.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry scrunched his nose at the other options, agreeing that art sounds like the most fun out of the electives. He wasn’t physically inclined enough to play a sport or smart enough to work with computers. Photography might have been interesting, but memorizing the settings for shutter speed, aperture, exposure, etc. would’ve been a lot to handle on top of his other core classes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“This is my favorite class, so why not take it again and again?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry nodded. “Makes sense. And if you like it so much, ‘m sure I’ll enjoy it too.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I bet you will. Plus, you have a friend in this class now, so if you need help with anything or if you have any questions, I’m your man.” Luke smiles again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His offer seemed genuine, far more so than Louis’ this morning. And he called himself Harry’s friend. That made Harry’s stomach feel light with butterflies, although Luke’s soft, dark quiff and long eyelashes weren’t hurting either. Harry felt happy for the first time that day, no longer terrified that he wouldn’t make any friends or fit in at school. Luke already knew one of his secrets and wasn’t running away, and approached Harry twice on his own volition. Maybe this wasn’t so scary after all.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The class passed quickly. After a quick introduction, the art instructor let the students create a collage of sorts out of their favorite colors. It was simple and not too messy. Luke said the long projects would start next week. Harry found himself relaxing and enjoying Luke’s company, joking around as he became more comfortable with his environment. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Harold, come eat lunch with me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“My name’s Harry!” Harry said with a playful lilt to his voice so Luke would know he wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> mad. His mind flitted to Louis for a second, wondering if they were going to eat lunch together. However, that question was answered as Harry and Luke left the building, and saw Louis, Stan, and a congregation of other eighth year boys playing with a football in the courtyard. Louis looked happy, and Harry didn’t want to bother his peace. “Yeah, I’ll eat with you,” Harry turns back towards Luke. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They end up finding a shady tree on the grass to eat under. Luke does most of the talking, much to Harry’s delight, because he isn’t good at starting conversations with new people. He’s a better conversationalist once he’s known people for a while, but Luke doesn’t seem to mind picking up the slack.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luke tells Harry about his course schedule for the semester, which teachers to avoid and which ones to suck up to, as well as his favorite parts of art class. Turns out the painting unit is his favorite, although he practices pottery a lot, too. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luke doesn’t seem to hang out with many other people from school, which Harry doesn’t question so as to not be hypocritical. He seems a friendly enough lad. He’s very nice, and his looks are good, so Harry doesn’t understand why he’s not more popular. Although he’s curious, Harry actually prefers talking to Luke one-on-one. If there were more people around, Harry would probably feel left out of inside jokes and references from a world he’s never seen before. In a way, it’s a blessing that it's just the two of them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When lunch ends, Luke asks for Harry’s number. “So we can keep in contact if we ever want to hang out outside of school or if you have any questions about the school or Donny or something.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry agrees and swaps phones with Luke, to put his own number into Luke’s phone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You only have three contacts?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry immediately feels a flush of embarrassment of Luke looking at Harry’s contact list. He snatches his phone back and tosses Luke’s phone as well, as if the deed hasn’t already been done. “Yeah, erm, it's a new phone and I haven’t transferred all my contacts yet.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, that makes sense. It’s nice that you have the newest phone, I want an iPhone but my dad’s company works with Samsung so that’s all I’m allowed to have.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was only a half-truth. It is a new phone, but Harry has no more contacts to add besides Mark’s, Jay’s, Louis’, and now Luke’s number. He has no family members he’s in contact with, and his last real friend was from four years ago, so they didn’t keep in contact. Besides the Tomlinsons and the occasional gardener or chef, Harry hasn’t really talked to anyone else since his adoption. It’s nice that he has someone to talk to outside of Louis now, though.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Luke, would you maybe want to come over to my house sometime? We could hang out and just do whatever, but I totally understand if you’re busy or would rather not--”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course! I gotta see where dear ol’ Harold comes from, don’t I?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry visibly relaxes at Luke’s agreement to his offer. Even when he lived with his dad, Harry’s never had a friend over to his house before. He’ll have to ask Jay about it, but he has no doubt that she’ll be over the moon about the idea. She seemed nervous for Harry to make other friends anyway.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe on Wednesday, if you don’t have anything else planned? I’ve got a dentist appointment tomorrow, but otherwise I’m pretty flexible.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wednesday sounds great,” Harry smiles. That will give him enough time to ask Jay for permission and prepare himself mentally.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Soooo what do we think about Luke? New character introduced, I’m sure you know who he is ;)<br/>I’m sorry that Louis is being distant rn but I swear he’ll come to his senses soon…<br/>Lmk what you think of the story so far, or if you have any suggestions!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter Eight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>(April 18th, 2021)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Today is the third day of football tryouts, and the final team list will be posted tomorrow. Louis isn't too worried about his position, he's played well these last few days and he's by far the best midfielder trying out. He's a little worried for next year, when he moves on to high school. The underclassmen on the team who have practice with the midfielder position don't seem to be nearly as good as Louis was, even in Year 6. Maybe some prodigy will join the team next year once Louis' no longer around to pull the weight of the team.</p>
<p>Louis' confident that the other Year 8 boys will also get on the team no problem; it's sort of tradition to let all the eighth years play their final year, and they're usually the most experienced players anyway. His teamwork dynamic was still going strong with Stan, Ed, Liam, Josh, and Nick, and he has no doubt that the coach will keep their group together. They might even make it to Regionals this year.</p>
<p>The coach's pick for team captain won't be posted until next week, and Louis is already antsy just thinking about it. He seems nonchalant on the outside, apathetic to if he actually gets it or not. Really, this is just a front to soothe his nerves. If he doesn't let himself build hope, he won't be as disappointed if someone else becomes captain. Plus, that would be social suicide to gloat about being the next captain and have someone else picked in the end. If he pretends he doesn't care, none of his friends or teammates can tease him about this. It's hard to act cool though, he's been pining for captain since Year 7 when he saw what a vital role they played in planning attacks and team spirit. The captain always gartered the team's respect, which wouldn't hurt, especially since Louis is looking more and more scrawny in comparison to his other teammates his age. His small frame allows him the speed and agility he needs on the field, but he's seen other kids get bullied for being twinks, and Louis is starting to look like one, especially compared to Stan and Liam, who look almost full grown despite being fourteen. At least his height growth spurt came at a normal time, keeping up with his peers. He would hate being short <em>and</em> scrawny, like Harry...</p>
<p>Somehow Louis' thoughts had ended with Harry again, as the car pulled into the gated entryway of his home. Louis shook his head to try and think about something else. Footie, homework, girls...</p>
<p>It's been a week and a half since Louis' tried to distance himself from Harry. He's stopped hanging around him so much, only really spending time in the same room when the girls or Mum are there to act as a buffer. Harry seemed to have caught on too, which is nice. Louis doesn't have to put much effort in avoiding Harry at school. He's not nearly as clingy as Louis expected him to be, especially for being in a new environment and everything. Maybe Louis was the only clingy one in the relationship to begin with. He was always the one to go to Harry's room to hang out after all, he was the one to drag Harry into his own favorite games and hobbies, and he was always the one to initiate physical contact, such as their tickle fights or throwing Harry in the pool. Maybe Harry was happier to be left to his own devices, and not burdened by Louis' incessant need for company and friends.</p>
<p>Louis sighed and shook his head again, storing this internal conversation in a mental file to be revisited later. As Louis walked in the entryway and kicked his shoes off to the side, shouting "I'm home!", he noticed another pair of shoes he didn't recognize, larger than Harry's but too small to be his dad's.</p>
<p>He walked towards the kitchen to get a juice to replenish what he sweat out during practice, footsteps slowing as he listened to two voices, seated at the table. He walked all the way in to confirm his suspicions about their guest's identity, and stopped in his tracks when they made eye contact.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Harry was laughing at the joke Luke made, placing a hand over his mouth to muffle his giggle. Suddenly Luke's face changed from playful and cheery, to quiet and focused. His eyes zeroed in on something behind Harry, devoting their full attention, no longer looking at Harry at all. Harry turned around to see what caught Luke's interest, and found Louis standing in the kitchen, still in place, like he had been paralyzed by Luke's gaze. Harry caught a sneered expression on Louis' face for a split second before it returned back to neutral but focused.</p>
<p>"Luke."</p>
<p>"Tommo."</p>
<p>Louis stared for a second longer, this time his eyes switching between Harry and Luke, sitting side-by-side. Eventually his posture slackened again, moving quickly towards the fridge to grab a juice before heading upstairs without another word.</p>
<p>Harry sighed. Of course Louis acknowledged his new friend, but not himself. He didn't know why Louis was upset or why he was still avoiding him. He just hoped that giving him some space will eventually be enough so they can talk out whatever went wrong and go back to normal, like before.</p>
<p>"Why is Louis Tomlinson in your house?" Luke inquired in a low, reverberating voice, as though he didn't want anyone else to hear. His eyes were focused back on Harry now, more tense than before. He looked completely serious now. Harry shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He didn't know why the mood had shifted so fast or why his friends addressed each other with so much disgust. He had hoped for everyone to get along, but all hopes were thrown out the window after that interaction just now. Clearly, Luke and Louis weren't the biggest fans of each other.</p>
<p>"Um, it's sort of his house? I mean it's my house too, but he lived here first." Luke looked at Harry, confusion apparent in his features. Right, he should probably explain his whole situation. "Erm, I'm Louis' adoptive brother. His Mum adopted me a little more than a month ago and I've been living here since, so technically Louis is my brother now."</p>
<p>Luke looked appalled by this new information. Harry squirmed some more, gaze locked on anything <em>but</em> Luke. He didn't want this to ruin his only friendship, despite not knowing the story behind <em>why</em> Luke and Louis hate each other.</p>
<p>Luke's eyes softened and his posture relaxed, instantly making Harry feel more comfortable than moments before. "That sucks, man. 'M sorry you got stuck with such a shitty brother."</p>
<p>Harry's eyes narrowed at the comment. Sure, he had only known Louis for about a month, so there was probably more to his character and background than what meets the eye, but he's known Luke for even less than that. <em>Three days.</em> Obviously he has to defend Louis, since he's never seen him do anything worth deeming him a 'shitty' character.</p>
<p>"He's not a shitty brother. Or a shitty person at all, for that matter," Harry spat, voice dropping an octave to show his seriousness at the statement. Harry's nostrils flared. He didn't know he felt such an overwhelming need to stand up for the boy who is actively ignoring him.</p>
<p>Luke looked taken aback by Harry's switch from a cute, naïve, cheerful teenager, into a venomous defender. The air cleared a bit, and Harry found himself surprised too. He had never even cussed before, but it seemed to flow so naturally in his defense for Louis.</p>
<p>Luke put his hands up in surrender and looked away. "Alright, alright. But know that you might not know him as well as you think you do. He's given me no reason to think otherwise, but if you believe in him so much, maybe I can give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he's changed."</p>
<p>Changed? From what? "What happened between you, anyway? Why do you seem to hate each other so much?" Harry asked, pure curiosity rather than a defense tactic.</p>
<p>"Ah, it's a long story. Probably not mine to tell. You should ask Louis if you really want to know. If he really has changed, it won't matter anyway."</p>
<p>Harry's curiosity is piqued and he wants to know even more now, but he won't push it. It doesn't seem like Luke has any interest in getting into that today anyway, so he lets it drop for now. He'll try to ask Louis later.</p>
<p>----</p>
<p>Another week goes by before Harry has the chance to ask Louis about Luke. The whole Tomlinson family is at the park, celebrating Louis' achievements on becoming team captain for the school football team. He plays it off cool, but Harry can tell that he's absolutely buzzing inside. Harry's proud of him, too. He doesn't understand much about the sport, but he knows that this is a big accomplishment and that Louis had to work really hard to earn it.</p>
<p>Jay is getting more fatigued everyday. Turns out carrying twins takes a bigger toll on a woman than when just carrying one baby. She is sitting at the picnic table, watching the family's stuff while Mark plays with the girls on the playground. He rarely gets a day off work, but Harry can tell just how fond he is for his family by the way his eyes crinkle and the corners of his lips upturn in a smile, catching Lottie and Fiz at the bottom of the slides or when they jump off the swing sets.</p>
<p>Harry and Louis were too big to play with the girls, and it was boring just sitting around, so Jay gave the boys a handful of cash and sent them off to buy everyone ice cream from the nearest convenience store. Jay said it was to celebrate Louis, but Harry had a sneaking suspicion that she actually sent them away because of her cravings and due to the summer heat. It was mid-September by now, but the sun still beat down over Doncaster. Hopefully a cold front will move in and fall will start soon, Harry can only take so many sunburns in a season.</p>
<p>"So what happened between you and Luke?"</p>
<p>Louis looked over at Harry, surprised that he had been the one to break the silence between them. "He didn't tell you?"</p>
<p>The corners of Harry's mouth turned into a frown. Why won't either of them just come outright and say it? Why does he feel like he's dancing around the topic, but never actually reaching it?</p>
<p>"No. He said to ask you."</p>
<p>Louis considered this for a moment, stroking his arm in thought. "We probably have two different sides of the story." He sighed. "Look, the specifics don't matter. It was a while ago and I try not to think about it. Bottom line is, he's not a very good influence, Harry, I don't think you should hang out with him as much as you do."</p>
<p>This made Harry seethe with anger. Why is that happening so often lately? He used to never get angry, even when he lived with his biological dad. He can't help but get defensive for his friends, though, even if it's against each other. Both Louis and Luke have seemed like such nice people, he doesn't understand why they see the other in such a bad light. It doesn't help that no one will tell him the story, either.</p>
<p>"He's not a bad guy! He's the only person at school who has reached out to me so far, and he's been nothing but kind. I don't <em>know</em> anyone at school, Louis, and clearly you have no interest in being my friend outside of home. I don't have a choice but to hang out with him, and I still would even if I <em>did </em>have other friends." Harry huffed and crossed his arms, quickening his pace so Louis has to jog to keep up, despite his longer legs.</p>
<p>"Harry. Hey, <em>Harry</em>." Harry stops and turns to face Louis, who suddenly looks much smaller than he did before. Harry immediately relaxes, not wanting his rage to scare Louis or make him uncomfortable. He can't stand his face when he's upset, prefers the sparkling liveliness in his blue<em>blue</em> eyes when he's having fun or talking about footie. Louis takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I know I've been acting like a dick lately, but you have to believe me, I don't mean to."</p>
<p>"So that's just your natural state then?" Harry can't help but ask.</p>
<p>"<em>No.</em> I just... I'm not used to this. Not used to having a brother, or friends outside of school besides Stan. I don't know where the boundaries lie between us because I've never done this before. I'm trying to figure it out, and I may have hurt you or pushed you away too much in the process. I like you, okay? Of course you're my friend. I just don't know how to express it or hang out with you in a way that's normal."</p>
<p>"Why can't we just be our own normal, Louis? I loved hanging out with you before school started, I never had a connection with a friend like that before. It hurt when you closed me off completely. I just want to go back to how we were before, I don't understand why that would be a bad thing." Harry pouts involuntarily, lip quivering and eyes starting to water. He didn't realize how upset he was with all of this, but he realizes now that he just misses Louis. It's hard adjusting to so many new life experiences at once, and he just wants Louis there with him for the ride, even if they mostly just hang out at home, due to their different friend groups at school. Harry looks up towards the sky because dammit, he's not going to cry today.</p>
<p>Louis seemed to notice his borderline tears, and softened immediately. He let his arms down out of their crossed position, and inched closer to Harry. He pet his arms and shoulders in a comforting rhythm, and spoke in a sweet, soft voice. "Hey, it's alright. I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere. We'll go back to normal, yeah?" Harry just nodded but stayed silent, not trusting his voice to speak without breaking. "I'm so sorry, Haz, I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry."</p>
<p>A tear rolled down Harry's face, emotional from happy feelings, not sadness anymore. Louis finally used his nickname that he hasn't heard in weeks. It sounds so fond and special coming from Louis' mouth. Harry doesn't ever want to be called anything else by Louis. He allows himself a tearful smile, reassuring Louis that he isn't mad anymore. Louis understands his feeble attempts at reassurance, and pulls Harry into a hug. His face is buried in Louis' chest, too short to even wrap his chin over Louis' shoulder. He smells like wood chips and sunscreen, the perfect scent to complement this hot summer day. Harry's arms wrap around Louis' waist too, giving one finally squeeze before reluctantly stepping away to wipe his tears.</p>
<p>Louis beats him to it, using his thumb to pad at Harry's cheekbones, gently wiping his tears off his face. It's so careful and fond, it almost makes Harry start to cry again. He missed this so much, whatever this bond he and Louis have.</p>
<p>Harry giggles into his smile, elated that Louis is finally talking to him again. He skips the rest of the way to the store, chest feeling light and free again. Louis smiles too as he follows from behind, money in his pocket to pay for the afternoon's celebrations.</p>
<p>----</p>
<p>When they all get home, Mark tucks the girls in upstairs. The combination of summer sun, lots of exercise, and full tummies, made both girls quickly fall asleep in the car on the way back to the house. After Mark returns downstairs, the four of them watch a movie together, cuddled up on the couch with mugs of tea in their hands.</p>
<p>When the movie ends, Louis and Harry start cleaning up the mugs and folding the blankets so they can all go to bed for the night. Before they get a chance to go upstairs, Jay pulls both of the boys to the side to ask them a question.</p>
<p>"I need to ask you boys a favor."</p>
<p>Louis rolls his eyes, but Harry nods in acceptance before even hearing the request. Jay giggles at their opposite reactions. "As you may know, this weekend is Mark and my wedding anniversary, and we'd like to go out to celebrate, just the two of us." Louis eyes narrow, waiting for the inevitable question. "None of the usual maids or nannies are available this weekend, and it's only one night, so we were wondering if you boys could take care of Lottie and Felicite for us?" Louis groans exaggeratedly. "It would just be keeping them out of trouble, making dinner, and putting them to bed. We'll be back late in the evening, probably after you both fall asleep, too. Would you mind? Please?"</p>
<p>Harry is nodding so fervently, it's like he's the one asking to take care of the girls. "Absolutely we can. No problem. You and Mark deserve to go out and treat yourselves, and have a relaxing night alone. I can do all the cooking and Louis and I can keep the girls entertained. I'm good at putting kids their age to bed too, I used to do it all the time."</p>
<p>Louis' jaw drops in shock. This is the fastest Harry's ever talked, he thinks. He's so eager to do this favor for their parents, that Louis can't even refuse. Usually he would put up more of a fight or try to get something in return, but he would feel bad doing that now, especially since Harry volunteered <em>both</em> of them for the job. He sighed. He supposes he wants his parents to have a nice night to themselves anyway, what harm can one night of babysitting do? He nods his head in agreement too and Jay's face lights up.</p>
<p>"Oh, I love you both so much," Jay wraps both of their necks in a bone-crushing hug, "I knew I could count on you. I really appreciate this, and Mark does too. Thank you so much. We can talk more details this weekend, but I'm so glad you both agreed. And I didn't have to threaten anything this time." Jay winks at Louis, Louis rolls his eyes, and Harry giggles at them both. Louis smirks a little too, enjoying Harry's excitement for the chore.</p>
<p>Maybe it won't be so bad, now that he has someone his own age to hang out with and help with the girls. Louis finds himself, maybe, just a tiny bit, looking forward to this weekend.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yayyyy Harry and Louis are back on good terms again! Sorry I left you hanging for what happened between Louis and Luke, you guys have to remain just as clueless as Harry :))</p>
<p>Also you should leave comments for your favorite slowburn interactions, like little things that don't explicitly lead to anything, but tease at it. I'm excited for how this story will go in the future :))</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter Nine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>(April 25th, 2021)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“We’re only going to be gone for the night. I promise Daddy and I will both be back by the time you wake up. You’ll have fun with Harry and Louis, and you won’t even notice that we’re gone.”</p><p>Jay hugs and comforts a crying Felicite. She had a meltdown when she found out they’d be leaving for the night, and hasn’t calmed down no matter how Jay assures her. Louis’ head is starting to get a splitting ache from the incessant cries and he doesn’t understand how his mother has the patience to deal with this. He really doesn’t want to babysit tonight, and he might not have to if Felicite keeps it up. Jay is a sucker for a crying child, especially one of her own babies, and Louis knows she’ll give in in a couple more minutes, calling Mark to cancel their reservations in order to spend time with and comfort her youngest. For these reasons, Louis is just watching the interactions from the couch in the living room, making no effort to help the situation.</p><p>Harry didn’t get the memo, as he seems to have other plans. He kneels down beside Felicite and brings a hand up to his mouth, shielding so Louis can’t read his lips to decipher what he whispers to the little girl. </p><p>Whatever he says, works instantly. Felicite stops sobbing and clutching onto her mother’s legs. She turns around with glassy wet eyes and tear-stained cheeks, an undeniable aura of innocence portrayed in her features.</p><p>“Do you promise?” she whispers back, loud enough for Louis to hear.</p><p>“Of course, Fiz. When have I ever broken my promises with you?” Harry’s lips turn up as he flashes his golden smile, but there’s a look of mischief in his eyes. The gold flecks sparkle against their green background in the afternoon sun, bright and alive. Harry winks to Felicite, sealing the deal. Felicite smiles back, detaching herself from Jay to cling to Harry’s neck instead. His legs wobble a little as he stands, holding her weight against his hip in support. She tilts her head into the crook of his neck, hands outstretched and tugging on his curls. </p><p>Jay gives the boy a desperate but grateful smile. She reaches her hand up to pet Felicite’s hair, leaning over to kiss her cheek. Then she pushes Harry’s hair aside and kisses his forehead as well, an action that used to be reserved exclusively for Louis. Louis wasn’t jealous, per say, but it still felt a little strange watching her do that to someone else.</p><p>“Alright boys, we’ll be back tonight but it might be kind of late, feel free to go to bed before we come back. Bedtime for the girls at 8:00pm. If anything happens, don’t hesitate to call, and remember that in case of an emergency you should call 999--”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah Mum, we’ve heard it all before, we’ll be fine. Go have fun with Dad, you don’t want to keep him waiting all night.” Louis waves his hand towards the door and rolls his eyes. </p><p>Jay smiles and comes over to the living room floor where Lottie is playing with a doll, in her own little world with no attention to the scene before her. “I love all of you. Be safe and have fun.” She kisses Lottie on the cheek before standing up and kissing Louis on the forehead one last time before grabbing her purse and heading to the door.  </p><p>“You have fun too. Louis and I will take care of everything,” Harry smiles like the good son he is.</p><p>“But not too much fun, we don’t need a third one baking in there.” Louis points his finger towards Jay’s baby bump. “Curfew at 3:00am or no TV for a week.”</p><p>Jay rolls her eyes at her son but smiles fondly nonetheless. </p><p>----</p><p>“So, what did you promise Felicite so she would stop crying and let Mum leave the house?”</p><p>Harry smiles, the rare expression of mischief returning to his features. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.” Then he winks. Harry winks! </p><p>Louis is silent for a second, taken aback by this new development of confidence in this boy’s demeanor. He doesn’t realize his mouth is gaping open until Harry reaches up to close it. Louis’ cheeks warm. This is embarrassing. He’s not used to being on the receiving end of these interactions. Even at school, he’s the one in his friend group to make people flustered at his quipped remarks, stuttering as they search for a good response. Usually this situation would be nothing new, easy to flip to his advantage. It was so strange coming from Harry though, that Louis is rendered speechless. At a last attempt of saving grace, Louis changes the subject.</p><p>“So what’s for dinner then? Mum said you knew how to cook.”</p><p>“Of course I know how to cook. I’m thirteen after all, ‘bout time I learned.”</p><p>Louis raises an eyebrow and Harry’s face reddens at his realization that he might have just indirectly insulted Louis. </p><p>“That’s not what I meant. I’m so sorry Louis, believe me, I promise I didn’t mean it that way, I--”</p><p>Louis cuts him off by slapping a hand around his shoulder. “No worries Hazza mate, I know a guy like you couldn’t insult someone if he tried. Probably deserved it though, I reckon I’ve been kinda spoiled growing up with maids and chefs doing all the work around the house.” Harry’s cheeks are still red as he looks down at his fingers, twisting them together until they turn white. Clearly he is upset by his comment. Must be up to Louis to cheer him up again, then.</p><p>“Why don’t you teach me, then?” Harry’s head quirks up a little bit, squinting his face as he tries to read if Louis is joking or not. “Really Hazza, I want to learn. Lottie and Fiz are playing in the playroom anyway, so I either sit around bored just watching, or you could make things interesting and teach me.” </p><p>Harry finally seems to understand, and his eyes brighten up the rest of the way. “Yeah, sure, I mean if you really want to, of course I can teach you!” He shows his goofy smile again, and Louis presses his thumb into the crater of his dimple. </p><p>Harry pulls out the flour and the salt, as well as a carton of eggs. Louis eyes the products, trying to figure out what they could possibly make for dinner with those ingredients. “Starting from scratch, are we?”</p><p>“Tastes better this way.” Harry offers no more insight into the dish as he measures the flour and salt together, before dumping them onto the surface of the table. Louis’ eyes go wide at the action.</p><p>“You know we have bowls and plates, right?”</p><p>Harry giggles, accidentally wiping flour on his cheek as he tries to hide his smile with his left hand. “It’s easier this way, trust me. And don’t worry, I sanitized it beforehand.”</p><p>Louis smiles, sitting back and watching the boy for just a moment. He seemed so at peace in the kitchen, like cooking relaxes him or something. Louis is snapped out of his admiration when Harry hands him a kitchen utensil after cracking a couple eggs in the center of the powder.</p><p>“Okay, gently whisk the center and slowly incorporate the flour from the outer ring, careful not to fully break the border until the end.”</p><p>Louis doesn’t even know where to begin on how confused he is by those instructions. “How do you whisk?”</p><p>Harry giggles again, then moves behind Louis. He starts to move his hand forward, before pausing to ask a question. “Is it alright if I show you? Like, can I put my hand around yours to help guide you through the motions?”</p><p>Louis is a little upset that Harry felt the need to ask at all. He supposes it makes sense though, as it’s probably his fault that Harry asked in the first place. Maybe he would’ve just gone for it in their first month of knowing each other, but Louis had kind of freaked out and ignored Harry for two weeks the last time they had physical interactions, so this new caution is with definite precedent. Louis lets out a small sigh, and moves himself backwards into Harry’s touch as confirmation. He is surprised to find not just Harry’s hand touching his own, but their whole bodies are flush together now. </p><p>Harry shifts a bit to the right to peak around Louis’ tall frame, wrapping his small, slender fingers around Louis’ own. They both hold the utensil at the base, the many thin wires pointed towards the eggs. Harry moves their hands in a small but quick circular motion, blending the yolks and egg whites together. Then he slowly widens the radius of the whisking, incorporating some flour and salt mixture into the middle. </p><p>They continue this pattern until the mixture gets too thick for the whisk, and Harry sets the tool aside. He whispers with a low tone into Louis’ shoulder, instructing him to begin to knead the dough to incorporate the ingredients the rest of the way. Louis feels a shiver up his spine at the unusually low tone, quiet as he complies and follows Harry’s instructions. Harry steps away, carrying the whisk to the sink to wash, and Louis’ back gets just a bit colder at the loss of additional body heat. </p><p>Harry then pulls out a can of crushed tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and a handful of various dried spices. He also sets a large pot of water on the stove to start boiling, adding salt to the water as it warms up.</p><p>Louis thinks he might know what they’re making now. “Why did you add salt to the water?” One time Louis watched Stan make boxed pasta at Stan’s house, and they just used normal water to boil it.</p><p>“Oh, uh, just something I learned to do a few years ago. Makes the pasta taste better, and it helps the water to boil faster.”</p><p>So they are making pasta. “What type of pasta are we making?” Louis asks. He knows the girls will eat anything without vegetables in it, but he doesn’t understand how Harry is planning on going from a ball of dough to pieces of pasta. </p><p>“That,” Harry grunts as he lifts up a large piece of kitchen equipment from under the island counter, “is what this is for.” His chest falls up and down slightly faster than normal, a little bit out of breath from the weight of the machine. </p><p>That doesn’t help explain anything to Louis. “I’ve literally never seen that in my life. I haven’t the slightest clue what it does.” He squints as he reads the label on the machine. What’s a KitchenAid?</p><p>“You never used this to bake or something with your Mum when you were little?”</p><p>“No. Like I’ve said, I have no experience in the kitchen. I know how to pour a cup of juice or make a bowl of cereal, but that’s about the end of my capabilities.”</p><p>“Oh. Well I guess we’ll have to change that. We can make cupcakes or brownies or something for the next special occasion.” Harry pulls out smaller, metal rod-shaped pieces, and attaches one to the front of the machine. “Tonight we’ll be using the pasta attachment to roll out the dough and cut it into thin strips. Hopefully Fiz and Lots will like it.”</p><p>“They love any and all pasta, and I’m sure this will taste great.” Louis isn’t sure when he suddenly became Harry’s hype man, encouraging him at any possible insecurity. Maybe it’s just to keep those dimples and golden smiles in place. He went so long without seeing them and he doesn’t want that to happen again, so Louis’ doing everything in his power to make sure Harry stays happy and confident. </p><p>Just as Harry takes the dough to begin the rolling process, Felicite and Lottie come running into the kitchen, pulling on Louis’ trousers to drag him into the playroom. </p><p>“Hey! Hey, stop that, what are you guys doing?”</p><p>“You have to come play dress-up with us!” Lottie shouts.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m gonna put you in a tiara and a pink boa,” Felicite giggles.</p><p>“No, how many times have I told you, I don’t like playing dress-up with you. Dress up each other.”</p><p>Felicite’s lip starts to quiver and her arms fold across her chest. Her telltale signs that a meltdown is about to occur. “But Harry promised!”</p><p>So that’s what made his sister stop crying earlier. Harry that bastard, Louis should’ve known there’d be casualties by the mischievous look in Harry’s eyes from earlier, and of course he would be the one sacrificed. Louis looks at Harry, who is biting his lip with an unsure expression on his face. “Please Lou?”</p><p>Well, shit. He can’t say no now, Harry looks so nervous and guilty and he used his nickname for God’s sakes. Saying no would only further Harry looking like a kicked puppy, and he really doesn’t think he can handle another Felicite meltdown tonight. </p><p>Louis aggressively exhaled and rubbed his hands over his eyes, willing up the courage for what he was going to say next. “Fine. But just this once.”</p><p>Felicite squealed with excitement and began tugging on his trousers again.</p><p>“Lou’s gonna be a princess! Lou’s gonna be a princess!” Lottie started chanting, pushing Louis’ hips towards the playroom. </p><p>“Not right now though, I’m helping Harry make dinner.”</p><p>“You can go now! I can finish this by myself. You probably have twenty minutes or so until dinner is ready, so you better make his makeover quick!”</p><p>Louis thinks for a second before letting himself be dragged along by two young children. Harry was right. If he went now, his pain would be over shortly. If he waited until after dinner, he would have no excuse to stop until bedtime, and that's still a few hours away. </p><p>----</p><p>Twenty-four minutes later, Louis’ misery is finally ended by Harry calling the three of them to the table. He has four dishes of homemade pasta set out, with parmesan on the side for those who want some. The girls cheer and clap for the dinner as Louis expected them to. Any variation of pasta is their favorite, after all.</p><p>“It’s no gnocchi, but I hope you guys enjoy.” Harry smiles bashfully.</p><p>And enjoy he did. This dish may be simple, but it tastes so much better than any dry pasta he’s had before at his friends' houses. It tastes fresh and soft, and the sauce is perfectly tangy and aromatic. Apparently the girls can taste the difference as well. </p><p>“Wow, this is the best pasta I’ve ever had!” Lottie exclaims, shoving another forkful into her mouth.</p><p>Harry beams at the compliment. You know you can trust a compliment from a 6-year-old when they have no reason to lie or try to make people feel better.</p><p>“Really Haz, this is amazing. You could give the chef’s that Dad hired a run for their money.”</p><p>Harry’s grin grows bigger somehow, eyes crinkling in happiness. “Well you could give Kendall Jenner a run for her money. I’m loving the eye shadow, and the nail polish really completes the whole look.”</p><p>Felicite giggles at the comment. “He looks good in pink, don’t you think Harry?”</p><p>“Yes, I really do. We might have to replace his whole wardrobe on our next shopping trip.”</p><p>Louis rolls his eyes and shakes his head, knowing that would never happen. He wouldn’t be caught dead wearing something like this out in public. But he smiles nonetheless, preening at Harry’s compliments and flicking his non-existent hair over his shoulders as he flutters his eyelashes, earning giggles from the girls. He knows they love to play with him, but he’s done it less and less over the past couple years. At least everyone is happy tonight and nothing has gone wrong so far. Turns out babysitting with Harry to help him is infinitely easier than doing so by himself.</p><p>----</p><p>After dinner and kitchen clean-up, the four move into the living room and pull out an assortment of blankets and pillows to make a comfortable nest for a movie night. </p><p>“What movie do you want to watch?” Harry asks. Louis thinks its a stupid question because he already knows the answer.</p><p>“FROZEN!” The girls shout out in unison. </p><p>“I call Elsa!” Lottie says as she jumps on the couch.</p><p>“I’ll be Anna!” Felicite squealed.</p><p>“Harry is Olaf and Louis is Kristoff.” </p><p>“Again? You guys aren’t tired of this movie?” Harry asks. Again, another dumb question in Louis’ opinion.</p><p>“Of course not. The last time we saw it was like a month ago.”</p><p>“Two weeks ago,” Louis corrects. But he’s already pulling up the queue list, selecting his sisters’ favorite movie. He can’t blame them either, it’s a good film and the soundtrack isn’t bad either.</p><p>Lottie hushes the boys as the opening animation starts to play. Louis turns off the lights before settling down next to Felicite, her and Lottie separating himself from Harry.</p><p>---- </p><p>After two hours of ice queens, betrayals, and romantic explorations (is this really a kid’s film?), it’s time for the girls’ bedtime. Singing at the top of their lungs helped tire them out too, and Felicite couldn’t help but slouch against Louis’ shoulders as he carried her up to her room, too tired to make the walk herself. Lottie wasn’t much better, having to be guided by Harry so she wouldn’t run into any walls or trip over the stairs.</p><p>Luckily, the girls shared a room, so it was easier for Louis and Harry to tag-team pajamas and teeth brushing and tucking into bed. Louis turned on the radio to a soft hum to fill the silence and help the girls fall asleep faster. They promised to be right downstairs if either of them needed anything, and reassured them that their parents would be home when they woke up. After just a few minutes, both girls were out like a light and Harry and Louis went back downstairs. </p><p>----</p><p>“Pink really is your color, you know,” Harry smiled cheekily.</p><p>Louis fake-flipped his hair over his shoulder again. “Shut-up, you know I look best in red.” </p><p>And Harry did know. The school’s footie uniforms were red, and the color was a great contrast to his olive skin and blue eyes. Harry couldn’t help but admire every time he caught a glimpse of their practices or a game. </p><p>“So what do you want to do?” Harry inquired.</p><p>“I’m kinda tired for playing with the girls all night, wanna just watch another film? I don’t think I have the energy to do anything else.” Louis rubbed his eyes, almost looking like a kitten while doing so.</p><p>Harry smiles at the cute gesticulation. He was thinking the same thing. “Sure, I’d love to. Which one?”</p><p>They end up watching Spiderman 3. Halfway through, Louis rests his head on Harry’s shoulder, which slowly falls down to his chest as the movie continues. Harry drapes his arm over the top of Louis’ chest, comfortably securing them both in a cuddled position. </p><p>As the credits roll, Harry notices that Louis is asleep, breaths deep and even as his chest rises and falls. He doesn’t have the heart to wake him up, and he’s not strong enough to carry him up the stairs into his room. Harry raises his finger, tracing the lines of Louis’ eyebrows, cheekbones, the bridge of his nose and the jut of his jawline. His eyelashes look dark and long, fanning shadows over his face when his eyes are closed. </p><p>The only light in the room is coming from the TV, but Harry can’t reach the remote and doesn’t want to shift and wake Louis again, so they’re stuck listening to the opening sequence on repeat. Harry doesn’t mind though. In fact, he finds himself comfortable in this position. He missed Louis so much, and even though they’ve been talking at home like normal again the past few days, Harry still misses the physical contact and close touches they used to share. </p><p>He finds himself calming with Louis’ weight against his own chest, like a weighted blanket to soothe his anxiety. Harry’s eyelids begin to droop heavy, and soon he finds himself falling asleep too, at ultimate bliss with his current position. </p><p>----</p><p>At nearly half two, Jay and Mark sneak in quietly through the front door. Jay toes her shoes off and is about to head upstairs, until she hears music and sees a faint glow coming from the living room. She figures that one of the boys just forgot to turn it off, but as she searches for the remote, she finds both of her sons, curled up against one another, limbs tangled and connected. She smiles at the image in front of her. </p><p>Jay was worried for a few weeks when something seemed to have shifted in their dynamic. She noticed Louis trying to act normal around her, but she could see Harry’s face fall everytime he was ignored or not properly addressed as a person in the room.</p><p>“Mark!” Jay whisper-shouted, trying to get her husband’s attention. “Come into the living room!”</p><p>Mark entered as Jay snapped photos from different angles, saving this memory for the future. “So it looks like your plan worked, then?” He smiled at her, quirking an eyebrow. </p><p>“I simply have no idea what you’re talking about.”</p><p>Mark let out a husky laugh and rolled his eyes. “Sure you don’t. You know our anniversary isn’t until next week though, right?” He pulled his wife in for a hug, wrapping his arms around her front to hold onto her belly, and placed a kiss on the top of her head. “Come on. Let’s get upstairs and let them sleep in peace. They look comfortable enough, anyway.”</p><p>Jay smiled at the boys one more time before grabbing the remote to turn off the TV, heading upstairs to her own bedroom. “Goodnight, boys,” she whispered into the night air, unheard by both Harry and Louis.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Wow! Okay, so that was the longest chapter yet. Also the most Larry development so far, although they are still just innocent touches. </p><p>Please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for the story in the future!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter Ten</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>(May 2nd, 2021)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Things have finally gone back to normal. After that night of babysitting a month ago, Louis had woken up in Harry’s arms, flustered and jumping up in surprise. Harry was worried he might freak out again and restart the cycle of ignoring and avoiding. Luckily, Louis seemed fine after he disappeared to his room for a couple hours. They made a silent agreement to not bring up that night or their precarious sleeping arrangements again, which was fine with Harry. He enjoyed the warmth of sleeping next to Louis, even if the couch made his back a little sore, but he would much prefer to pretend the incident didn’t happen and follow Louis’ lead rather than have that night of cuddling mess up their dynamic again. </p><p>Things seemed to go back to normal at school, too. They still tended to stay within their own social circles--Louis with the footie team and Harry with Luke--but Louis no longer avoided him in the halls, which Harry was immensely grateful for. Sometimes when they would pass in the hallway, Louis would clap Harry on the back. When they would see each other in the courtyard, Louis would make a big gesture of waving to where Harry sat under a tree, no longer worried about Harry affecting his reputation. </p><p>Harry let Louis do most of the initiating because he wasn’t sure how far Louis was comfortable with. He still didn’t know the boys on the footie team very well, not even Stan of whom Louis is closest with. He wasn’t sure how they would react to him in every situation, or if Louis still preferred to hide some things, so he wasn’t pushy with saying hi at school. </p><p>Luke seemed to be uncomfortable around all the boys on the footie team, not just Louis. Harry could feel his friend tense and withdraw whenever they came near, sometimes trying to hide behind Harry. Other times he would stop mid-sentence and try to look busy reading a book or doing homework so people would know not to approach them. </p><p>A few times Harry has caught sneers coming from the footie boys in his direction. He thought it was jealousy or disapproval for Louis’ choices at first, but later figured out that the glares might be aimed in Luke’s direction rather than his own. He pieced together the clues that something happened in the past between Luke and the team, but no matter how many times he asked, Luke shrugged him off. </p><p>Harry was getting antsy for the story. He didn’t like seeing his friend so uncomfortable and just wished everyone could get along. Maybe then it would be okay to hold a conversation longer than a greeting between him and Louis. Ideally, their friend groups would tolerate each other. Maybe if Luke got comfortable enough around them and they finally sorted out their differences, Harry and him would be able to eat at Louis’ lunch table or work with them during group projects in their classes. </p><p>Unfortunately, it didn’t seem that that day was anywhere near. Harry sighed as he opened his locker, pulling out his large sketchbook and stowing away his textbook from last period. </p><p>Luke was right. Art was a really fun elective, and Harry found himself improving quickly. The teacher was super supportive and kind, encouraging every kid to do their best, even if some may be more talented than others. Even before Harry had any kind of experience, she encouraged him to explore his own creativity and just make something that makes him happy, rather than worrying about comparisons to others or objective beauty. </p><p>This unit, they were learning how to draw. Harry found himself enjoying this unit more than the previous ones. Pottery, sculpting, and paper art had been fun, but Harry found himself much happier with a pencil or piece of charcoal in hand. He practiced even outside of class, sitting in the courtyard during his free period or with Luke during lunch, sketching anything he could see. And he was getting quite good, too. Playing with the light and different kinds of shading is his favorite part. Drawing the outline of a landscape is cool enough, but the shading is what brings the drawing to life. Highlights and contours mixed with the application of color makes the images appear real, or three-dimensional. Reaching the final product brings so much joy to Harry, he finds himself unable to stop, even after the unit ends. </p><p>Maybe he finally found his passion. Louis is amazing at football, and Harry is great at drawing. Maybe that can be his ‘thing.’</p><p>On one Tuesday afternoon, the art teacher pulled Harry aside after class. She handed him a pamphlet of information about the Art Club. The meeting times were three times a week after school, and the group mostly spent time creating their own art, working on joint pieces, or sometimes entering and hosting art competitions. Harry would get to meet new friends that held his same interests, as well as finally have an extracurricular activity to take up some of his time. Additionally, Louis already stayed late on those days for footie practice, so it wouldn’t be an extra burden to get picked up late from school.</p><p>When Harry brought the idea up to Jay, she was ecstatic. </p><p>“Oh love, absolutely! I can’t believe we didn’t look into this sooner. I’ll talk to the administration and get you signed up immediately.”</p><p>Jay pulls Harry into a bone-crushed hug, his face buried and suffocating against her chest. He tried to hug back, but didn’t want to hurt her or the babies, as her belly was getting quite swollen. The babies were due in less than a month, and because they were going to be twins, Jay appeared to be overdue to the untrained eye. </p><p>Harry was excited for the new additions, but also nervous. He would know these girls their whole lives, rather than just a few months, like most infants at the orphanage. He would make an actual impression on them, and he didn’t want to mess them up. He knew he was probably being irrationally nervous, but still couldn’t help worrying. Overall though, he was more excited than anything.</p><p>Louis, on the other hand, seemed to be less so.</p><p>“I just don’t understand why this family needs more kids. Four is enough, six seems excessive.”</p><p>“You say that like it isn’t too late to use protection.” Jay gasps at the comment and hits Mark across the chest, clasping her palms around Felicite’s ears.</p><p>“Protection from what?” Lottie asked, peas rolling off her spoon before she could bring the utensil to her mouth. </p><p>“From having more siblings,” Louis fills in. This time he is the one to get lightly hit by Jay.</p><p>Harry flusters at the conversation, unsure how their parents will handle their curious children.</p><p>“In any case, you will all have two more baby sisters soon. Hopefully tonight, because I don’t think I can wait any longer. I might just reach my hand in and pull them out myself if they don’t come by this weekend.”</p><p>Harry’s cheeks heat red even more at Jay’s comment. The more pregnant she got, the less of a filter she seemed to have about her experiences. The girls didn’t seem to pay any mind, for which he was grateful. It was still a strange conversation to be having at dinner though, and Harry stayed mostly quiet, letting the others do the talking. </p><p>Louis let out an exasperated sigh and stood up, grabbing his and Felicite’s empty plates to bring to the kitchen. “Just make sure their crying doesn’t keep me up at night. And I’m not babysitting until they’re at least three.”</p><p>Mark rolls his eyes as he begins to clean up the table. “Of course not my dear prince, we wouldn’t dream of disrupting your beauty sleep. Your circadian rhythms are of utmost importance, after all.”</p><p>“Exactly, thank you for understanding,” Louis clips back, completely ignoring all tones of sarcasm in his father’s comment. </p><p>“We won’t ask you to help with the infants, but we might need a little more help with Fiz and Lottie. Our hands might be a little full, so thank you in advance for helping out.” Jay said.</p><p>“But you guys are the ones who decided to have this many kids! Don’t have more if you can’t properly take care of them yourselves. It’s not my responsibility to pick up your slack.”</p><p>Jay sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose, eyes fluttering closed as she breathes through her next sentence. “You’re right, Louis. They are of course our responsibility, but don’t you think you could help out every once in a while? Maybe be a contributing member of this family? They’re your sisters for Christ’s sake, and you love them. Just a little help is all we’re asking for.”</p><p>“Anything you guys need, you could always ask me, too. Even with the twins. I have a little experience with babies, so I might be able to give you a break from them every once in a while. I promise I’m responsible enough, you can trust me.”</p><p>Jay smiles and leans in to kiss his forehead. “Of course we trust you, love. That would be wonderful. We won’t put too much stress on you, but the fact that you’re offering means the world to me. Thank you.”</p><p>Harry beams at the compliment before hearing a huff from his right, turning around to see a disgruntled Louis with his arms crossed over his chest and a pout playing at his lip. “You’re helping the enemy here, Hazza. I thought you were on my side.”</p><p>Harry positively melts at the nickname. Louis doesn’t call him that unless he wants something.</p><p>“I’ll still play video games and hang out with you, yeah? Nothing has to change. There will be plenty of time for both.”</p><p>“But you joined the Art Club! How would you still have time for all that.”</p><p>“It only runs during the same time you’re at footie practice, so you won’t notice a difference anyway. It’ll all work out, I promise.”</p><p>Louis gives one more huff, this one a little more surrendered, before he turned out of the dining room and headed upstairs. Harry couldn’t help but let a smile play at his lips. He secretly loved when Louis got all clingy like that, it made him feel special to be at the center of his attention.</p><p>----</p><p>Early December rolls around, and Louis finds himself stressed for finals. He never realizes how close they are until it's too late to properly study. He doesn’t usually get bad grades, but he could only describe them as mediocre, at best. His parents encourage him to do well, but as long as he’s passing, he has no real incentive to do well. It won’t affect his future anyway, his parents have enough money to send all of their children to the best private high schools and universities. </p><p>Harry, on the other hand, seems to excel in every subject. Louis figured that he would struggle with normal school considering he’d been homeschooled for the last four years, but whatever he was learning at the orphanage seemed to propel him ahead of his classmates. School came easy to him and he hardly had to try to get good marks. Okay, maybe that’s not true. Louis saw him trying all the time. He was always doing homework and keeping up on assignments, and even paying attention in class. Who even does that?</p><p>Louis wouldn’t care, might even be happy for Harry, if it didn’t lead to his parents hounding him more and more often about his own marks. They used to not care as long as he passed, but now that they’ve seen the wonder that is Harry The Good Student, they can’t seem to leave Louis alone. It’s always “have you finished your homework” and “how’s that assignment coming along.” They even offered to hire a tutor for Louiss. A tutor! He’s not stupid, he’s just lazy. There’s not really a point to trying hard, but since Harry seems to do just that with no problem, it’s up to Louis to rise to that new standard. And it sucks. There’s much less time for messing around and playing video games at Stan’s house.</p><p>By the end of the semester, Harry received A’s in every class, and Louis received mostly B’s with a few C’s. His parents weren’t all that impressed, even though it was better than any other previous semester. Straight C’s seemed to be a character trait for Louis, although that had changed this year. His parents (unfortunately) saw his potential, and vowed to hold him to a higher standard for the Spring semester. Something about “preparing yourself for high school.” Louis didn’t know. Louis didn’t care. </p><p>Thankfully, another distraction came along at the end of the school session. Sometime in mid-December, Jay was rushed to the hospital, and she gave birth to two healthy twin girls.</p><p>“What are you going to name them?” Harry asked.</p><p>All of their kids were taken out of school early and rushed to the hospital so they could meet their new siblings. Felicite sat on Mark’s hip, and Lottie glued herself to the edge of the bed, peering over Jay’s arms to where one of the new babies was held. Harry was holding the other one, swaying next to Louis as she fell into a deep slumber. </p><p>“That seems like something we should figure out as a family, yeah? Any suggestions?” Jay answered.</p><p>“Butter!” Felicite shouts. Mark holds his finger up to his lips to tell her to quiet down. The last thing they needed was for the twins to wake up and start the screaming competition all over again. </p><p>Louis snorts. “Yeah, I like that one. Let’s go with Felicite’s suggestion.” </p><p>Felicite preens at the compliment, clearly proud of herself for coming up with that one. </p><p>“No stupid, you can’t name a baby after a food,” Lottie snaps back. Felicite’s lip curls into a pout, and she looks on the verge of tears.</p><p>“Lottie, we don’t call people names. It’s mean and it hurts their feelings. Apologize to your sister, please.” Mark scolds.</p><p>Lottie huffs and folds her arms across her chest. “Sorry.” It’s vague and non-genuine, but the babies take up too much attention for any of them to care right now.</p><p>“Do you have any ideas then, Lots?” Jay asked kindly.</p><p>Lottie furrows her brow and thinks deeply for a minute before her eyes light up with an idea. “Daisy, like the flower! They’re my favorite flower and it counts as a name too, I think.”</p><p>Jay considers this for a moment before nodding her head. “Daisy. I like it.” She boops the nose of the baby in front of her. “Welcome to the world, Daisy.” The baby grabs Jay’s hand and wraps her tiny fingers around one knuckle. She lets out a small giggle and it's perfect. The name suits her.</p><p>“What about this one,” Harry says.</p><p>“Do you have any ideas, love?” Jay asks back.</p><p>Harry’s eyebrows go up in surprise, like he didn’t know he was included in the conversation to think of baby names. “Oh, um--” Harry considers for a while. “I’ve always thought Phoebe was a pretty name, but if it’s too old-school I understand, we can’t think of something better--”</p><p>Jay cuts him off before he can fall down a slippery slope of self-deprecation. Harry seems to do that a lot. He’s not very confident in his opinions, and Louis doesn’t understand where that stems from. “Phoebe! Oh that sounds perfect, doesn’t it Mark?”</p><p>He smiles and nods his head. “Daisy and Phoebe Tomlinson. I like it.”</p><p>“No fair! I get to name the next baby,” Felicite complains.</p><p>“I veto that statement. No more babies for you until I leave the house. I’ll keep a close eye on you both.” Louis squints and uses his index and middle finger to point between his eyes and their parents.</p><p>Harry giggles at that, and Phoebe reaches up to tug a curl in protest.</p><p>“Seems that the Tomlinson girls really love that head of hair you’ve got there, Harry,” Mark teases. It’s true though. All of them seem to have an odd fascination with watching the pattern bounce, and Louis would be lying if he said he didn’t have those urges too. He’s just mature enough to keep his hands to himself.</p><p>Louis smiles at his family. Even though he’s been an arse for months, complaining about the twins’ arrival, he’s actually very content right now. Seeing his whole family in a room together like this, with two new additions in their arms, he couldn’t feel happier in this moment. He’s itching to hold one of them, but he doesn’t want to ask. His Mum would never let him live that down.</p><p>Harry, ever the attentive soul, seems to notice this somehow. He walks over to Louis with Phoebe wrapped up in his arms, and raises her a little bit in question if Louis wants to hold her now. He gives a small nod, which is all it takes for Harry to close the distance and carefully place the baby in the crook of his elbow, gently handling her neck so she has adequate support. Clearly Harry wasn’t lying when he said he had experience. He’s so gentle and careful with her, and seems to be fully confident in his handling of the baby, despite that lacking in most other areas.</p><p>Louis was only nine when Felicite was born, and he doesn’t remember holding her by himself without his parents there to guide him. This time, it feels different. He feels like Phoebe’s life is in his hands, and he focuses much harder to hold her just right. When Harry finally steps away, leaving him on his own, Louis takes an inhale and notices the smell of a fresh baby. She smells so good and he just wants to nuzzle her. That might be difficult to do, so he holds back, but even then he relaxes at her scent. </p><p>Smiling, Louis looks up at his Mum to see her smiling back at him. He doesn’t even try to hide his happiness this time. He’s too overwhelmed with the mix of emotions he’s feeling. He walks over to her and hikes his hip up on the hospital bed so he’s almost lying next to Jay, holding the baby in front of himself next to her sister, Daisy.</p><p>“They really are identical, aren’t they,” he observes. The light brown eyelashes, button noses, and thin pink lips look exactly the same. If the doctors hadn’t labeled them with wrist bands, Louis has no doubt he would get them mixed up. Hopefully they start to develop slight differences soon, or they’re going to have to mark the babies to tell them apart. </p><p>“They are. And they’re beautiful.” Jay smiles down at her babies again. </p><p>A hospital attendant comes in to check on them, and Mark asks if she could take a picture of the eight of them.</p><p>Louis and Jay adjust themselves on the bed, each holding a baby in their arms. Harry stands behind Lottie on Louis’ side, hands on her shoulders as he leans in. Mark is still holding Felicite on Jay’s side, and he leans them in too so they all fit in the same camera frame.</p><p>“Say cheese!” the nurse instructs.</p><p>A chorus of “cheese” could be heard from all of them, big smiles on everyone’s faces. That must be a picture for Jay’s scrapbooks, she’d want to document this moment. Louis doesn’t blame her. Everything seems perfect right now.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yayyyy the twins are born! Next is the rest of December which has a holiday and someone’s birthday...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter Eleven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>(May 7th, 2021)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The Tomlinson Residence has been a house of chaos since the babies came home a week ago. Turns out juggling two infants is much harder than just one, even taking up more attention than two parents could provide. Instead of double the work, it seems to multiply. Maybe exponents, or something? Louis doesn’t know, he can hardly withstand his teacher’s constant droning in maths class. He’s not the best at paying attention or trying to learn.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jay was a stay-at-home mom to begin with, and Mark even took time off until after New Years to help take care of the babies. He can do that, since he’s CEO and all. He gets the privilege of making his own rules and taking off as many days as he wants. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Since both parents have their full attention on the never-ending beck-and-call of Daisy and Phoebe, the other four kids are left to fend for themselves. Sure, there are maids to make meals and snacks, as well as clean up after the kids, but finding entertainment is up to the children alone, especially now that school is out for the semester. Felicite hasn’t even started school yet, so the only difference for her is less attention from Jay. Almost no attention, actually. She’s still at the age where she requires constant engagement from somebody else, even in playing, so unfortunately, she takes up most of Harry’s free time. Lottie, of course, joins in on this too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Since coming home for holiday break, Harry has spent nearly every day entertaining Felicite and Lottie in the play room, with various games of house or dress-up or anything along those lines. He seems to genuinely enjoy it too--deep dimpled smiles, glinting eyes, rumbling giggle, you know the sort. Louis thought it was kind of adorable at first, the way he fit into the big-brother role so easily, but after a week, Louis is starting to get jealous of his sisters. Not just Felicite and Lottie for taking all of Harry’s time, but all of his sisters.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Louis’ birthday falls on Christmas Eve, which is unfortunate timing in terms of combined gifts and celebrations for Louis only. His Mum usually spends the week leading up to his birthday showering her son with special attention and little gifts so he doesn’t feel lumped in with the Christmas holidays. In the past, he would wake up every morning to the smell of fruit crepes or chocolate pancakes (Louis’ favorite), and he would get to pick dinners, films for family movie night, go shopping for whatever he wanted at the mall, and even have a later bedtime. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This year, however, his Mum (and the rest of the family) hasn’t done anything yet, and his birthday is only four days away. He wasn’t expecting as much as usual, with the new twins and all, but he was still expecting his Mum to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He hasn’t even heard his parents discussing plans for his actual birthday yet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Louis huffs and slides down on the recliner in the playroom, arms crossed and chin to his chest, posture getting more horrendous by the minute as he tries to make his discontent as dramatic and noticeable as possible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lottie and Felicite don’t notice a thing, just continue playing with their dolls in the Felicite-sized dollhouse. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They really are spoiled sometimes</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Louis thinks to himself. Even though they all go to a private school, the Tomlinsons are usually better-off than most of the other families. None of the surrounding community struggles to get by, but the Tomlinson’s have always had excessive spending money. Which seems necessary, given the rabbit mating habits they seem to carry. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That seems to be another factor contributing to Harry’s interest in playing with their little sisters. He mentioned earlier in the year that the girls have more toys than the whole orphanage combined, and that they’re much bigger and nicer quality, too. Louis thinks they should donate their toys to Harry’s old orphanage, they’d hardly notice if some went missing, anyway. The girls didn’t seem as on board with that plan.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Louis huffed again, this time sliding all the way off the chair onto the floor. Harry finally looked in his direction, raising a brow as if to ask ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>what’s up?</span>
  </em>
  <span>’</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Louis’ always been too stubborn for his own good, though. He won’t say anything unless he’s directly asked. Their concern for him feels more sincere that way. Instead, he’d rather mope and pout all day before he speaks his mind himself. He wants to know that people are listening and genuinely care for what’s upsetting him. His parents learned his antics soon enough and set to rolling their eyes or teasing him, never actually giving him the satisfaction of asking what’s wrong. Lottie and Felicite continue to ignore him, being used to his dramatic antics by now. It just sounds like typical background noise to them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harry, on the other hand, is new and more likely to fall for Louis’ game. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, Louis?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Good enough. “I’m bored,” Louis drawls out, “Ditch this and come play video games in my room?” he asks with a pouty lip. That usually seals the deal for getting what he wants.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harry giggles rather than caving in immediately. Not the reaction Louis wanted, but Harry’s giggle is one of his favorite sounds and things to see, so he doesn’t mind. He wishes Harry wouldn’t always cover his mouth when he laughs. He knows it's a self-conscious habit, but Harry looks downright ethereal when he giggles, and Louis thinks the world would be a better place if everyone got to see it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I’m playing with Fiz and Lots right now,” Harry says, as if Louis hasn’t been sitting here watching them for the last half hour.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Louis turns the corners of his lips down into a frown. If pouting didn’t work, maybe guilt-tripping will. “But you’ve been playing with them all week. It’s my turn now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw, does Loubear want my attention all to himself?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Louis’ cheeks redden at the comment. He’s still not used to Harry’s teasing, as it happens so rarely, especially directed at himself. At least Harry seems to have half a brain to only use that nickname at home. He’d be mortified if the footie boys ever found out. He has to keep his cool reputation as team captain, after all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I just want someone to hang out with and you’re my best option right now.” That isn’t entirely true. The answer to Harry’s question had been ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>yes, of course, duh,’</span>
  </em>
  <span> but that would seem desperate. He doesn’t want Harry to hang out with him out of pity, either. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Louis thought that he and Harry would be best mates again over break, like they were at the end of last summer, with no school assignments to keep up on or extracurricular activities to occupy their time. It was too cold to dip in the pool now, but they had a hot tub, or they could go ice skating, or Louis has a whole shelf of video games he has yet to beat…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why not hang out with Stan then?” Harry asks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He doesn’t say it in a malicious tone, and there’s no bite behind his inquiry. It seems like a genuine suggestion to fix Louis’ problem. Louis is a little upset that Harry isn’t jumping on Louis time, or jealous that he might hang out with Stan instead. Louis would certainly be jealous if Harry decided to hang out with Luke instead of Louis over break, but he’s hardly ready to admit that to himself, let alone other people. Especially not Harry. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stands abruptly, nearly knocking over the dollhouse as he regains his balance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lou! Be careful!” Lottie scorns.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Louis huffs in response, and briskly leaves the room, making sure his dismay is known to anyone nearby.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He texts the chauffeur, and requests to be dropped off at Stan’s house. If Harry won’t shower him with attention, maybe his best mate can fill in. Video games and ice cream can fulfill his needs somewhere else. He texts Stan to let him know he’s on his way. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>----</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harry is confused. Like, really confused. Louis had been fine hanging out in the playroom with Lottie and Fizzy this afternoon, but suddenly got huffy and sounded very distressed. Harry kept waiting for him to voice his concerns, but he never said anything. Harry tried to egg him into talking about it, and when he finally did, it seemed like a rather easy problem to fix. Harry offered a simple solution, which only seemed to make him more upset. He was setting the dolls aside to get up and ask Louis what was </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> wrong, but Louis put his shoes on and left the house so quickly that Harry never got a chance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He gave up and went back to the playroom to watch the girls again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Truth be told, they didn’t really need a babysitter, Harry just secretly enjoyed playing with all their toys. He never had much when he was little, and from what he did have, his dad only bought him trucks and dinosaurs. He wasn’t allowed any dolls, or costumes, or play houses, or anything that might be deemed too ‘girly,’ no matter how fun it looked to play with. He even enjoyed the unicorn hair extensions that Fizzy clipped into his curls, and the tiara that Lottie made him wear when he pretended to be the Queen of the kingdom. He was honestly having as much fun as the other two, and he quite enjoyed their overactive imaginations when it came to dreaming up scenarios. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could spend his whole winter break playing with them and never get bored, no matter how ‘girly’ or ‘childish’ it was. Harry was grateful that Louis never made fun of him for enjoying it, at least, not to his face. Maybe he believed the facade that this was all to help Jay and Mark out, and take some stressful responsibilities off their hands. Lottie and Fizzy seemed happy enough with Harry to settle disputes and play with them. So far he’s managed to keep them content enough to not run off crying to Jay over a simple matter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sat in his spot in the playroom, puzzled, as he wondered what could possibly be going on in Louis’ mind. He was so hard to read sometimes, especially with his distaste for </span>
  <em>
    <span>voicing his thoughts</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was almost ironic, really. Louis made sure that everyone in a 10 mile radius knew his opinion on every little detail, but when it came to things that actually bothered him, he kept it all pent-up inside, leaving Harry to only guess.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harry doubted the girls would know what was going on, but he thought it couldn’t hurt to ask.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do either of you know why Louis seems so…” Harry pauses, trying to come up with the right word that the girls might understand. “Grumpy today?” he finally settles on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fizzy ignores him and continues playing with scenarios in her head, but Lottie pauses to consider his question.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm… He usually gets really happy and hyper around his birthday and the holidays so I don’t know. Maybe he doesn’t like the babies?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He has to like the babies, Mum said so.” Fizzy finally interjects, apparently having listened to their conversation the whole time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, his birthday? Is that soon?” Somehow in the five months of knowing Louis, he had never thought to ask when his birthday was. It just never came up naturally, and no one else had mentioned it, so it slipped Harry’s mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Christmas Eve. Mum usually celebrates for a long time before, too.” Lottie shrugs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girls aren’t old enough to have a proper sense of time, so they probably don’t realize how close the holidays are getting. Christmas Eve is only four days away, and if Jay usually celebrates for a long time beforehand… then she’s probably missed that this year. Maybe that’s why Louis is so upset. He thrives under attention after all, so maybe he feels a little discarded with their parents’ attention on the new babies and all. And Harry… oh God. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Louis had been dropping hints about wanting to hang out all week, but Harry had gotten swept up in playing with the girls and helping Jay that he hadn’t given any one-on-one attention to Louis since school got out. And Louis was asking for it today. And Harry had basically told him to go away. Oh God. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Harry was starting to stress. This would be Louis’ first birthday with Harry, and his first with the new twins, and he probably feels unimportant and cast aside, especially in comparison to what the previous years must have been. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The last thing Harry wants is for Louis to feel any less special than he is. Especially with having an unfortunate birthday so close to a day of group celebration, not centered around any one person. Harry needs to come up with a game plan, and quickly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sets the dolls down, racking his brain for what he could do. He’s pretty limited, considering he doesn’t want to bother Jay and Mark too much with their hands already full (literally and figuratively), and he doesn’t have a ton of money. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>has</span>
  </em>
  <span> been saving his allowance for Christmas gifts though, so maybe he can splurge a little on Louis instead and get smaller things for the family. He doesn’t think they’ll mind too much, what with this being a good reason and all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harry’s head is starting to hurt from formulating a plan, but after twenty minutes of deliberating, he jumps up to write down his ideas and get everything set up. He’s going to make this the perfect birthday, and he and Louis will get to hang out, just the two of them.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry, shorter update this week. I'm going on a trip this weekend and I won't have access to the internet on Sunday so this is an early update.</p>
<p>Please comment on anything you'd like to see in this story in the future, or any thoughts you have, I'd love to hear them! Thanks for reading :))) xx</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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